


Different road

by SheolRephaite



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Absurd, Bad Writing, Best Friends, Healthy Bill Cipher/Dipper Pines, M/M, Magic, Not-evil Cipher, Reincarnation, Strong Dipper
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2019-12-26 18:07:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 41,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18287522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheolRephaite/pseuds/SheolRephaite
Summary: The first time we met we were just children. I couldn’t even imagine where it will lead me.Or: Story about childhood friends, magic, garbage, reincarnation and bad humor.





	1. Part ONE ch.1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. This story should have three main parts and I'm not sure how many chapters but what's more important: most of the story is already written so it will appear here fast (probably).  
> PS: ~I love regular-person Cipher~

I turned around and walked into the meeting. Stan twins were sitting around and arguing with my parents but all of them went silent as I entered and took my seat.

“Dipper, honey, how are studies? Did you already get the letter from Saint Perio?”

“Yes. That’s why I’m here. They took me but I don’t think that I should go. The war is getting worse and I should be here to help”

Ford had frown and gave me a hard stare “Don’t take it the wrong way Dipper, but you are weak, the best way you can help is to study magic, your talent, and become strong. Plus, we managed to capture on of the Shadows. We will get useful information and maybe end this war few years earlier. And you will be safest, smallest liability and most useful not here. You are twelve and your training starts next month. Do you understand?!”

My parents were looking shocked and were just starring at Fords harsh but not untrue words. I sighed and nodded. Smallest liability. I get up from the table and stormed out of the room ignoring my mother shouting behind me. In few minutes I disappeared into secret door and headed into most desolated part of the castle.

I stopped in the deserted library and grabbed book about ancient magic. Lucky for me no one had idea about existence of forbidden books in this library. Sometimes Ford can be so stupid. After the book was secured in my coat I climbed out of the window and on the roof. I climbed the tree and slipped into another window. There were no doors into my little room and that assured almost absolute privacy. I was gone for at least two weeks, mainly because of the exams in Saint Perio. It was a nice place, but I would still rather stay at home when my family is in danger. Smallest liability. Ford is right, I should go.

I made myself comfortable leaning against the wall and surrendered by soft pillows. Around the time I reached fourth page something next to me hissed. Quite unmanly yelp escaped me and I jumped away. How did a snake get in here?! When I take a closer look around the room I noticed a boy chained to the wall, sitting comfortably and leaning as close to me as his shackles allowed. Holy duck! There is a another person in my room! And not just any person. His skin was light and smooth, too smooth for a human. Strand of deepest black hair I ever saw felt into his face and hid one of his golden eyes. Slight smirk went over his features and he started speaking fast in his native language. I couldn’t help myself and leaned closer to the melodic voice. His eyes were shining, and he smiled at me like I’m the best thing that ever happened to him. One more strand of hair felt into his face and all wanted was to touch it. When my fingers touched his dark black hair my eyes dilated. So soft. I left my feature relax and smiled. In a second, he smirked and bit my hand. He bit me! I kicked him and moved away still cradling my bleeding hand.

“What the flop?! What did I did?”

That soft-haired boy was still smiling as he run his long tongue over his blood-stained lips “ _One thing I have to give you. You are delicious”_ He was speaking in the old tongue. Thank god for my old forbidden books.

_“Why did you bite me? You were so nice before”_

_“Don’t be a child it’s just a bite, and I wasn’t nice it’s called charm”_

_“It hurts”_

He gave me unimpressed look but smiled again and started speaking again in his foreign language and the bite on my hand didn’t bothered me all that much anymore. I closed my eyes and listened _“And you will let me out. First you need to find the key an-“_

_“No way!”_

_“What?”_

_“Exactly. What the flop? Like I would let you go just because you ask with your pretty face and soothing voice”_

_“It’s called a charm. Just get going and get me out! I don’t like it here”_

_“And that is supposed to just convince me to break you out?! And how did you get here? This is my secret room!”_

_“Some freak with twelve fingers locked me here and the door just disappeared. It was really rude. He was shouting something in your weird language for at least half an hour, hit me few times and just left. Back home we offer our visitors cup of tea and fluffy biscuits made from the light of the moon”_

_“They are made out of moonlight?”_

_“Just one of ingrediencies. It makes them fluffy”_

_“Wau”_

_“They are delicious. I promise that I send you one if you break me out”_ He smiled once again with that maddeningly charming smile of his.

_“That’s not even close to fair. I’m not betraying my family for a biscuit even if he is made out of moonlight”_

_“But they are delicious. I would kill you for one of them right now”_

_“You are a bad person!”_

_“You are mean, and I don’t like that you speak the old tongue”_

_“Would you rather if I couldn’t understand you at all?”_

Raven pouted and sucked at his bottom lip _“I suppose it could be nice to have someone I can talk to”_

_“Soooo…. You aren’t human”_

_“Neither are you”_

_“No. I’m a human”_

_“You speak my language and taste like magic”_

_“I’m magi”_

_“That’s what I said. Not a human”_

_“Magi is HUMAN with magical ability”_

_“No, it isn’t. Mages are magical creatures, whose magical core isn’t hereditary. When you can do magic, you aren’t human. No scratch that. If you have magical core, then you aren’t human. Human can use their life energy to create spells and charms but are still humans and they suck. Like Sixer. You-“_ He pointed at me, his lean hand still in shackled and skin under them red “ _have magical core. You are magical creature that looks like human. Just like me”_

_“I’m not like you. Not at all. You are Shadow and enemy of a kingdom”_

He smiled, leaned even closer and almost purred _“You are smart. I do like that. Do you want to join us?”_

_“NO”_

_“C’mon. I promise sweets”_

_“I don’t want sweets”_

Boy’s eyes sparkled, and soft grin went over his features _“Now I like you even more. Do you really let me keep ALL of our sweets? You are so very nice”_

_“I don’t want to join whatever you offer”_

_“Oh…”_ Stranger looked almost sad and wriggled into more comfortable position _“But… sweets… That’s how I joined them. This man gave me candy”_

_“You joined some weird sect because they offered you sweets?”_

_“Yeah. They were delicious, and I had nothing better to do”_

_“Are you trying to tell me that you joined a guild of assassins just because they offered you sweets?”_

_“Well…yeah”_

_“You are a horrible person”_

Boy just shrugged and shake his head, more of his black strands falling into his face. I leaned closer and pushed them from his face which resulted with the boy starring at me with his gold eyes but once again shook his head and then blow at the stray hair, clearly annoyed with himself that he didn’t think it through. I chuckled once again and pushed them away. He gave me a small smile _“Thanks. I miss my hands”_ his fingers wriggled in the shackles and small flow of blood started running down his arm. That made the surprisingly young boy squirm in discomfort. When I looked at him once more I noticed bruise at his cheek and little blood around his nose. For some reason I felt rather sorry for him.

All of sudden he hissed at me again and I jumped away in surprise _“What the duck men. Don’t scare me like that”_

_“You felt sorry for me. Don’t do that. I’m fine! Either break me out or leave!”_

_“You don’t have to be mean it is just basic human emotion”_

Stranger’s eyes were cold as he watched me _“Go away”_

_“NO! I like it here and I was here first. You leave!”_ I pointed my finger accusingly at him, but he just stared at me with blank expression. _“Sure. Let me just pack my things and go”_

_“Sorry”_

He just turned his face  away from me, pouting and refusing to make eye contact. Was he going to just ignore me?

_“Hey”_

_“C’mon”_

_“Talk to me”_

_“Fine”_

Then I curled back into my soft pillows and continued reading the book where I left it.

When I was leaving he was still pointedly ignoring me, and it started getting on my nerves. I was the royalty and he was ignoring me because I showed him little compassion?! But I already had a plan on what to do.

Next morning still avoiding my family I sneaked into the kitchen and grabbed my breakfast and lunch. Also, some of the delicious pastries that Susan makes. In another hour I had books under my arm, backpack full of food and I was climbing through the window into my favourite doorless room. The stranger didn’t spare me a look but I just smirked and dig in my backpack till there were ten different sweets before him. He looked over them and gave me accusing look.

_“That’s cheating”_

_“No, it isn’t. It’s peace offering and my way of saying sorry”_

For a while he was just staring at the sweets before him and sighed _“Fine I forgive you and feed me that Croquembouche first. I didn’t have one of them in ages”_

I smirked and kept it few inches away from when he could reach it _“When I give you sweets will you work for me?”_

_“Pull up my shirt”_

_“What?!”_

_“Just do it”_ Carefully I lifted his dark shirt and starred at the tattoo over his chest “ _This is called-“_

_“Agresia, the oath. When it expires?”_

_“Three days, four hours”_

_“Will they try to come for you?”_

_“Neh. I still won’t be allowed to talk about my work no matter what… And if I got caught then I’m not strong enough so… I’m actually looking for somewhere to stay”_

_“Wait a second… You would really do it?”_

_“Sure. Why not? I need comfortable place to sleep in. Good food that includes a lot of sweets. And freedom to do what I want in my free time”_

_“You can’t do anything bad”_

_“Fiiine”_

_“Just like that… and you will do anything I want?”_

_“Not anything. I was kind of expecting to kill people for you…That was my last job and I’m pretty good at it”_

_“How many people do you think that I want dead?!”_

_“Dunno. Fifty?”_

_“NO ONE”_

_“Then why?”_

_“You are good at magic, right?”_

_“Well yeah”_

_“Can you teach me?”_

_“Sure, but what will be my job?”_

_“You will teach me”_

_“That’s all?”_

_“Yeah”_

_“Ok”_

_“Ok”_

Both of us were looking slightly surprised but then we grinned at each other.

Raven opened his mouth _“Now the sweets. We can make another deal when my old is gone”_

Next morning I walked into the meeting and sat down like I wasn’t avoiding my family for two days. I was pretty sure that they will say no but I was ready to stand my ground. I really want to stay home.

“Soooo, do you remember that magical creature who works for Shadows and is chained in the tower?”

Ford starred at me “What did that fucked did? I know that he understood me-“

“He doesn’t understand you and finds our language rather offensive. When I think about it he doesn’t like you at all mainly because you were shouting at him and didn’t give him any sweets and I you do magi-“

“Enough! How do you know that?!”

“He speaks old tongue and was really chatty when I met him…”

“How can you know that language?  And just like that? You need to tell me everything. Every word he said about his work. The enemy army a-“

“I read it in a book and he can’t speak about that even if he wanted. He is bind by Agresia”

“Ag-what?”

Ford took a lead “Agresia. It’s oath. Magical creatures can bind themselves to another magical creatures. Dipper do you know when it expires?”

“I know that. Two or three days but he promised that he will bind himself to me. He will teach me magic, so I don’t need to go away and can stay here”

“What?”

“What?”

“But we need to let him out and I also promised him sweets”

“What exactly did he asked you back?”

“Just nice place to live in, sweets and he can do what he wants in his free time but he promised that he won’t do anything bad so I think that it’s all good. I really want to stay home and he is nice”

“He is the enemy of the kingdom”

“He joined Shadows because they gave him sweets”

“And I’m supposed to just believe that?”

“Why would he lie to me?”

“E-n-e-m-y of the kingdom. Just go up there and ask him what his name is. I’m ready to bet that he will lie to you”

“Okay but when he doesn’t he can stay” I shot out of the room, ignoring the shouting from my parents and Stan twins. It twenty minutes I was climbing into the room and looking at the boy. His eyes were closed and looked even younger than me. He wouldn’t lie to me. I lightly shake his shoulder and his golden eyes open. He yawns and smiles “ _Hi_ ”

“ _Hi_. _I brought you a candy. And I’m here just for a second. Can I know your name?”_

He opened his mouth and I throwed candy inside, he sucked for a while before nodding “ _I’m Bill Cipher but the human thinks that I’m Geli Forgeii. He was screaming that a lot but that should be understandable because I was Shadow under that name but it’s still rude to call someone by wrong name”_

_“I think so too. Can I correct him?”_

_“Okay”_

_“I try to come back later today with more sweets”_

_“Great. Can’t wait”_

In another twenty minutes I was back in the room and smiled at my parents “He is Bill but gruncle Ford thinks that his name is Geli Forgeii. And he finds it very rude and I think that too and we both think that Ford shouldn’t call him that anymore”

“What?”

“His name is Bill”

“He just told you that?”

“I asked. Can he stay?”

My family was starring at each other for a while till they throwed me out of the room. I sat before the door and waited till they let me back in. They were shouting a lot but finally let me back in. My eyes immediately found my mother and I gave her pleading look. She just laughed “We already decided that he can stay but you need to be really, really careful”

I run up to her and hugged her “Thaaank you so much. I promise that we don’t get into any problems”

“Ford will keep an eye on him and any information about what he was doing has to be reported”

“Okay. Can we let him out now? I think that he doesn’t like that place”

“Fine”

In ten minutes, me and Ford were standing before the non-existent doors. My gruncle made few small symbols and door appeared. I slide inside before Ford and run to the younger boy. He was still sleeping, and his black hair were falling into his face. Once again I pulled them aside and woke him. Bill blinked few times before smiling _“Do you have the sweets?”_

_“No but my parents agreed to let you out and I though that we can go after”_

_“Can I choose which ones I want?”_

_“Yes”_

_“Great idea. Let’s go”_ He stand up ready to leave but the shackles pulled him back and he whined _“Ouch. I thought that this was dreamscape”_

_“What is dreamscape?”_

_“Place where I go sometimes. I like it there”_

“Gruncle Ford can you let him out?” He nodded and slowly unlocked the shackles, Bill’s arms felt down and he rubbed his wrists before hissing at Ford from behind me. I looked up to Ford “He still doesn’t like you”

“No shit. His wrists were bleeding yesterday. Why are they fine now?”

I looked quizzingly at Bill, but he didn’t answer. Of course, he doesn’t understand him. _“He asks, why are your wrists okay”_

_“I was in dreamscape and dreamed that I went back home but then I woke up and they were okay”_

“He says that he dreamed that they were healed, and he woke up they were fine”

Ford’s brows furrowed “Probably some kind of regeneration. I need to see the Agresia” After his words Bill hid even more behind me and throwed his arms around me so he can keep me between Ford and himself. “I don’t think that he wants to show you. I already saw it so it’s okay”

“It can be altered and-“

“I saw it and it was just regular Agresia” Ford made a step closer and Bill clutched me even stronger than before. I looked accusingly at Ford “Don’t scare him”

“I just need to see-“

I pointed my finger at him and poked him into stomach, the gesture loosing its strength by my height “No you don’t. Maybe when he isn’t scared of you but not now”

Ford rubbed his temples like he had headache “Great. Let’s just introduce him to your parents”

When I pulled Bill from behind me and looked at him thoughtfully it seemed to me that he is even skinnier that yesterday _“Did you lost weight since yesterday?”_

_“Yop. My mom says that I have very fast metab- bilo-bloti-bisisimus- I need a lot of energy and sugar is energy. I will be like new in few months”_

_“That seems like a very long time”_

_“Duh, I can’t eat that much at all at once”_

“We can’t go to my parents just yet. Bill needs something to eat”

“He can wait twenty more minutes”

“I don’t think that it would be healthy for him. Bill needs a lot of energy and he should eat something”

“Fine but he needs to be fast”

_“We will visit kitchen very fast and they you need to meet my parents, okay?”_

_“Food. I bet that I can find the fastest way when I follow my stomach”_

_“It doesn’t work like that!”_

_“Just watch, you are betting all your sweets for a week. ~They will all be mine~”_ He laughed and dragged me behind him, still with me between him and Ford. Immediately after that he headed down the stairs and actually managed to find the fastest route, even using secret passages, one of them hidden even to me. It was probably his idea to lose Ford in process, which I wasn’t sure I approve but he knew where we are heading so it should be okay.

We entered the kitchen in no time and Bill smiled charmingly at Susan. The women lowered herself to his height and smiled “Hello. I never saw you here before. Look at how skinny you are we need to feed you something” Bill looked at me and I smiled “ _She thinks that you are skinny and wants to feed you”_

_“I liiiike her so much. Tell her that her sweets are divine, like little drops of angel’s tears. And ask if I can get some more. Just a lot of sugar”_

_“_ This is Bill and he will be living with us. He loves your sweets, thinks that they are really delicious, something about angels and asks if he can have more. Lots of lots of sugar”

In few minutes Susan had a wild variety of sweet deserts and Bill gave her the widest grin before slowly digging into Napoleon, enjoying every bite. When I tried to sneak a bite he poked me into hand with his fork “~ _All your sweets are mine~_ “ on my hurt look he added _“But you can have few of these macrons”_

_“How did you know where kitchen is?”_

_“When I went home in my dreamscape I looked around this place. It’s so much bigger than my home”_

_“World doesn’t work like that. Because you dreamt about it, it doesn’t mean it’s real”_

_“Of course it does”_

_“No, it doesn’t”_

_“It doesn’t? That’s weird”_ He looked genuinely confused by this basic information.

Ford got closer to us and Bill pulled one of his still plates closer to himself giving him a mean look but Ford just ignored it “We need to get going”

Bill looked rather sad when we left the kitchen and I promised myself that I will bring him back again.

My mom looked very glad when I entered, dragging Bill behind me. Immediately she went to him and pulled him into a hug “Hello little one” She looked up on Ford “Are you sure he was a Shadow?”

“Absolutely”

“Where are his parents?”

_“My mom asks, where are your parents”_

“ _We were back home, and some men came, and my parents made me promise that I won’t be causing any trouble and send me to safety with another men. They always have to fight because of the Gleeful and sometimes they have to send me away but always find me after. But this time someone attacked the men with me and I run away and then I was alone in Dewi so I used different name. And they I met Pythagoron who gave me sweets and asked me if I want to work for him and I said yes. And then I was fighting with Ford and he burned my hand and I don’t like pain and he caught me”_

“His parents have to fight against this Gleeful-person and send him away with someone, but they were attacked too and Bill escaped. He was living in Dewi for a while and then started working for a Shadows and got caught by Ford”

“So he has no parents?”

“This wasn’t the first time this happened, and Bill says that they always find him when the fighting is over”

“Poor sweetheart. He should stay here with us”

“That’s great. Honey we can’t adopt every child that lost their parents and needs help”

“But look at him, he is so sweet” Bill smiled and my mother hugged him one more time.

***

“ _This is my sister Mabel”_ I pointed at the boy next to me “And this is Bill” Mabel waved at him, blushing slightly “Hello”

Bill seemed too exited to pay attention to her and just started going over her drawings till he stopped and his eyes shined as he run his fingers over one picture _“That’s great”._ His golden eyes closed for a minute and when he opened them again they went light blue and he opened his palm. In few more moments little legs appeared and soon the body formed. Next was the head. Then the colours shot out of his palm and in to time at all small pink horse with rainbow hair and golden horn was standing on his palm, nibbling on his finger. Bill chuckled and offered the horse Mabel. _“Do you want him?”_

She shrieked in excitement, causing Bill to recoil back as she carefully took the miniature unicorn. I looked at him impressed. “ _How did you made it? Can I make stuff too?”_

_“My mum says that it’s only my ability. You can make the picture from paper to move but you can’t make them live. That weird horse will live as long as Mabel”_

_“It’s unicorn, they are mystical creatures that may or may not be real”_

_“Weird horses. Why don’t you just put horns on horses, little colours and voila“_

_“But they wouldn’t have any magic. Unicorn’s are supposed to be magical”_

_“That thing has magical core, it’s abilities are bound with what your sister thinks they are”_

_“That’s really amazing”_

He smiled at me with the cutest smile I ever saw _“Thanks. Now do you want to learn how to talk with animals?”_

_“Yes, please”_


	2. Part One ch.2

_“Why does HE have to be here?”_ Bill was glaring at Ford under his hair.

_“I know you don’t like him but if we want him to trust you he needs to see”_

_“Fine but we are burning something later”_

_“Can I do it?”_

_“We can try if you have connection to the fire. It will be fun~”_

_“Great. What do I do?”_

Bill stood into middle of circle and pointed before him. When I joined him he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It seems like everything around went grey, even Bill. But I could see the bright blue flame swirling in the middle of his chest. It was pretty blue. And then Bill started talking and reached his hand towards me “ _From this day, I demon Bill Cipher, swear to serve to you”_

I took his hand _“From this day, I magi Dipper Pines, swear to serve you”_

The warm leaked through our connected hands and I could feel the blazing blue fire. It was light and barely there but I could feel its warm. “ _That’s all?”_

_“We aren’t making complicated deal”_

_“Great now let’s make fire”_

He cheered and shot out of the room, I could only glance back at Ford before I had to follow after him before I lose him. Bill finally stopped on small clearing in the forest and gave me cheerful grin and couldn’t stop my either. “ _What kind of circle shou-“_

“ _No. NO. NO! if you need circles to handle your element then you aren’t really in control. Watch this”_ His whole arm went up in blue flame. It was incredible. I never saw magi wield element so easily and smoothly. It was flickering in beautiful shades of blue and “ _Focus Pine tree. Sit down and close your eyes. Right next to my life force you should be able to feel your own centre of energy, it won’t be as focused as mine but find it”_ It took me a while, but I think that I got it and nodded at Bill “ _Fire is one of the basic elements but it differs from others. It has no meaning or reason. Only thing it feels is hunger. Hunger large enough to consume entire universe. It will feed on anything in its way and leave nothing behind. I need you to find that hunger inside of you, raise your hand when you’re done”_

The exercise seemed almost pointless but then I found it. Behind the door in the room that was enveloped by nothing, and the room was collapsing under the weight of it. I raised my hand.

_“Open your eyes. Don’t look, just open them. Let the world around you slowly soak into your senses. Do you see the twig before you?”_

_“Hmm”_

_“Can you feel the matter?”_

_“Hmm”_

_“Use your magic to ignite it. Create a spark and let the matter burn. Give the fire what he wants”_

The flame up before my eyes in light yellow light and I cheered but Bill seemed unimpressed “ _Congratulations Pine tree. You have the rarest connection of them all. To the spirit. You just lighted a ghost fire”_

_“Wait, what?”_

_“You burned the spirit of that twig. The physical matter is intact but after little practice you can extend it to the physical part of the object. That will give you control over the remaining four elements”_

_“It’s kind of cool”_

_“No, It sucks. YOU SUCK! I wanted to burn it and now it’s just a shell of its former existence”_

_“I’m sorryyy, I didn’t mean to. I’m sure I can find something else we can burn”_

Bill grinned mischievously _“Let’s burn the forest”_

“ _Noooo. Please don’t. I find you stuff to burn”_

_“And sweets later~”_

_“Sure. Susan made special batch just for you”_

Bill cheered and showed me his sharp teeth with his wide grin. I poked at the sharpest one and Bill snapped at my fingers. “ _Don’t touch my fangs. I can drink your magic out”_

_“That’s awesome_. _That’s how you know that I’m magical from my blood?”_

_“It’s part of me being a demon. We’re great species”_

_“I think that it has to do more with you”_

Bill’s grin widened even more _“Compliments. I like those, but you still need to give me fire and sweets”_

_***_

Bill trailed into my room with sulking face. That meant only one thing “ _Did Ford tried to talk to you again?”_

_“Yeees. I don’t like it. Why can’t he leave me alone?!”_

_“He’s just worried about us. Maybe give him nightmare? That could help”_

Bill looked sad _“I can’t do nightmares”_ I didn’t mean to make him sad. I’m horrible. But then Bill grinned happily “ _Oooh I know. Let’s kill him_ ”

_“NOOO. We can’t kill anyone. What about déjà vu? Make him dream about something and then we can recreate it here?”_

His face brightened _“And we can do it day after day after day. It will slowly drive him insane. That’s brilliant”_

_“I was thinking more of a three days or till he stops interrogating you every chance he gets?”_

_“Slowly drive him insane is a good idea. Killing him was also good idea. Both of them would have worked”_

_“I’m not saying that it wouldn’t be effective. It’s just horrible. We can’t do that!”_

And Bill started to look sad again. Noo. But I can’t hurt my gruncle. _“What about we try for few days? And have fun doing it. We will eat sweets and we can burn something. And if that won’t work we come up with something better?”_

Bill grinned “ _That I can do. BUT. The new plan has to be worse than this one”_

_“How much more?”_

Bill leaned closer to me, whispering _“Sooooo much worse”_

I breathed out _“No”_

My new friend busted down laughing “ _Don’t worry Pine tree. I already promised you that I won’t do anything bad”_

_“But you sound like you want to”_

_“Kind of”_

_“Nooo. You need to be kinder to people”_

_“Why?”_

_“You would make them sad. People shouldn’t be sad”_

_“Like when I don’t want you to get hurt or be sad?”_

_“Exactly. But you should be kind to strangers”_

_“But I don’t like them”_

_“That doesn’t matter. Just be nice but not as nice as you are to me. You are MY friend and therefore should be extra nice to me”_

_“Isn’t that cheating?”_

_“No it’s not”_

_“I think I get it. Don’t hurt the others and be nice to you”_

_“Kind of. It’s better than before”_ Bill just laughed like it didn’t really matter. My new friend was little scary but still pretty amazing.

***

Bill was floating next to me to my great astonishment. But he said that he could do it since forever and doesn’t know how to teach me.

Mabel was right now being attacked by bunch of gnomes and desperately trying to get away.

“Get away from her” I jumped toward her and pushed one of them away. My new friend was starring at us while we combated the gnomes, so I yelled at him “ _Little help here?!”_

He looked generally confused “ _To who?”_

_“ME!”_

_“Oh okay”_ He floated towards us and burned two of them. They immediately retrieved back with profanities.

_“That worked surprisingly well”_

_“They will be coming again”_

_“What do we do?!”_

_“We can burn them or fly away. I’m for the burning!”_ He grinned cheerfully and growled at one of the gnomes that carefully stepped from the bushes. The gnome run away, and I looked at him.

“ _Me and Mabel vote for flying”_ Bill pouted and gripped the back of our shirts while we cheered.

***

The whole Pines family was sitting around the table enjoying dinner.  Mabel let her unicorn run free on the table as he was sprinkling glitter on everything and we tried to save our plates. When I looked at the left I could see that Bill already won five of Stan’s cookies and by the Stan’s face I could tell that he was on the way to loose the rest. It always fascinate me that even though they never said a word that other can understand, they were still friends. Ford was holding a book and gave Bill every so often worried stare. My mom was smiling with a glass of wine. Bill fit unexpectantly well into our family. That thought made me smile and I pushed my plate of cooking closer to him. He gave me brilliant smile and ruffled my hair.

But then the lights went off by sudden wind. Window shot open and two dark figures were before it like they appeared from thin air. Guards started flowing in but one of the figures lifted her arm and the door closed shut and the guards started floating.

_“MOM”_ Bill excitedly jump from his chair and with huge smile on his adorable face and hugged the scary figure. Her other arm pulled him closer as she kneeled before him and pulled her hoodie back. It revealed a waterfall of black curly hair, almost as black as Bill’s.

_“Sweetheart, I’m so glad that you’re okay”_

She stands up and looked at our family “We heard from our contacts name Bill Cipher mentioned here. Thank you for looking after him but I would like to if you never spoke his name again”

She turned again to Bill _“I don’t know how you did it, but you managed to stay out of problems this time. I’m actually proud of you”_

Bill still looked happy as he smirked _“I joined Shadows and became enemy of this kingdom. And now I’m bound to the prince”_ She smacked him over the head. _“I told you no organize crime till you are sixteen. THIS is exactly the reason why I can’t tell you your real name!”_

Second figure sighed _“At least he did better than last time”_

_“He became dictator, renamed the country on Candy land and made the people to make him sweets! Everything is better than that!”_

The second figure sighed again and pulled his hood of too. His hair were also black but skin dark and eyes golden “I’m sorry but we are taking our son back so we need to remove the Agresia”

Ford joined the conversation “Agresia can’t be broken”

Bill’s dad smirked and used mocking tone “Agresia can’t be broken. My son used fake name in oath, so I can break it”

Suddenly I realize why is Bill who he is. His parents were fun. I jumped from my chair and walked towards them _“Hello, my name is Dipper”_

_“He’s my friend”_

_“That’s really nice honey. I’m glad that you actually made friend and not an enemy or accomplice, but we need to break it, so you can go home. Your name was mentioned and it’s no longer safe”_

_“But I made an oath”_

_“Either your will break it or your father will”_

_“But-“_ Bill pulled me closer and pushed my hair away _“I don’t think that his real name is Dipper”_ His mother was looking from my forehead to happy face of her son. She smacked him again and he hid behind me before she had a chance to hit him again and whined _“Please don’t hit me anymore. I promise I won’t do that again till I’m sixteen”_

She rolled her sleeves and sighed _“You better, you little shit, or the next time you are getting cut of from your magic and we-“_

_“I try harder the next time”_ She tried to smack him again, but he again hid behind me and was now grinning at her defeated look. The women stand up and walked to my mother and drowned her wine in one gulp before crushing into the free chair and looking at the small horse _“Honey, what did I told you about creating magical creatures?”_

 Bill is just grinning excitedly _“Do it? I’m pretty sure it was do it”_

_“Absolutely not. You will destroy the balance of this world and it will burn”_

_“So… Do it?”_ He was still absolutely sincere and this time I smacked him _“I live in THIS world and you can’t destroy it so it’s definite NO”_

_“Fine but I’ getting your cookies”_

_“I already gave them to you”_

_“Oh. I meant every cookie you will have. ~EVER~”_

_“I’m not paying you not to destroy the world with cookies”_

Bill smirked with his adorable face and waited.

_“Fine. You can have my cookies”_ Bill cheered and jump on my back _“You’re the best”_

My mum smirked and poured another two glasses and offered one to Bill’s mum who take it with smile. They clinked their glasses and took a sip. They were getting along well.

“I’m really sorry about any trouble my son caused and I know that there were some-“

“Actually he didn’t, some harmless pranks an-“

_“Did you actually behaved like a reasonable person here?!”_

_“I was really good. Didn’t burned and killed anything or anyone”_

_“_ Jeorge he didn’t do anything here! Can you believe it?! I’m so happy I could cry”

The men just grinned at her “You owe me two hundred _hew_ ”

She just smiled “You can tell that we have serious gambling problems by us betting on our own son”

“He is more unpredictable than a lottery. I won last time two years ago but one of my friends is very good at it and finances his research from our city betting”

“What I find stranger is that you leave him alone, I actually thought that you were dead. Aren’t you worried about his safety?”

Bill’s mum snorted and laughed, shortly and bitterly “I stopped worrying about my son few years back. He was kidnapped, and they contacted us pleading to take him back. He thought it was fun and wanted to do it again. They rather surrendered themselves to prison”

“Why? He is so much fun and taught me magic”

“Your son is sweet. I’m glad that HE is his friend, I always imagined and dreaded someone a lot older and honestly eviler. My son has tendencies to lose his morals for fun and sweets”

“He does love sweets but I swear that he was sweetheart to look after”

“That is new but thank you for looking after him. I’m afraid that I have some bad news. This place isn’t safe for Bill and we need to take him back to palace.”

“No. Why can’t Bill stay with us? At least for a while?”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. He is strong dream demon an-”

Ford’s tone was serious “He isn’t dream-walker. His powers are greater than that”

“Don’t interrupt- and he is able to erase the difference between a reality and his dreams-“

“Not dreams- it’s dreamscape -it isn’t like dreaming. Like reality that reflects ours and Bill can do anything he wants and then just bring it into this reality”

“Smart child and he is quite right. Watch this”

_“Honey, what is the first rule?”_

_“The real world is where I feel pain”_

_“Forget it”_

_“Okay”_

_“Now tell me about languages?”_

“There is only one why did you say languageS?”

“What about gravity?”

Bill gently rolled on his back in the air “What’s that?”

“Nothing important. Can you light up here?”

In a second there we soft blue flames floating around but when I touched one it didn’t put out any warm. I pulled at Bill’s sleeve “That’s so cool, can I fly too?” Bill slowly grinned and touched my forehead and immediately I was as light as air. “Mee too” Mabel laughed as she floated around the room swirling between the flames. “Honey, can you remove the Agresia?” but this time Bill looked at me. His mother was giving me glare so I sighed and nodded. In a moment cold feeling settled in my chest and I couldn’t feel Bill’s magic any longer.

Ford stand up “Did he just broke the second law of magic? Just like that?”

“There are no laws in my world”

“You broke the second law of magic and can understand me!”

“I already told you that I didn’t broke any laws. There are NO LAWS in the world” The world seemed to go grey in the corners of the room and I reached to Bill and pulled his attention from Ford. He still didn’t like him. “What else can you do?”

“Do what? I’m not doing anything” He was starring at me with his golden eyes, innocent face and I finally realize it. Bill didn’t know what he was doing. He was completely lost between two worlds and didn’t know where he is. Bill, my best friend was lost and didn’t know where he was and didn’t even know he was lost. So I pulled him into a hug. “Bill do you know that there are two worlds?”

His brows furrowed “Two?”

“Yes. One where you were born in and live in and the second one, dreamscape where you can do anything you like. But in this world you can’t. And do you know how to tell the difference between the two?”

“No”

“Real world is where you can feel pain” Bill was starring at me for some time and then bit into his palm. Both of us felt on the floor and his eyes flowed with tears. “It hurts. I don’t like it”

“Shhh” I pulled him for a hug and petted his hair. The room was still lighted up with the flames and Bill’s mum cleared her throat. “As you can see his powers are even in his age already surpassing most of the magi. And they will only grow. What he needs is a way to control his way back into reality. You did very well Dipper. Right now, he is unable to come back on his own. And in that disposition, he will do almost anything anybody ask him unless there is emotional connection to someone, then he will listen the person he likes most. There are many ways he can lose his contact with reality and only few ways to bring him back. You understand that he can be used quite easily and even though he is practically untouchable physically, but his mental state is different. A lot different”

“But Bill will be so strong. When he learns how to control it he-“

“There is only very slight chance that he will learn it. He was growing up lost between dreams and reality and doesn’t know the difference…”

_“What are you all talking about? No. Never mind. I’m sleepy”_

“Can he sleep? Wouldn’t that be bad for him?”

“It’s alright” Bill rested his head in my lap and sighed. His gold eyes fluttered and closed. I hope that his mom is right. Carefully I petted his soft black hair and watched him took a few calm breaths.

“Anyhow, since he already grow up with his realities mushed up together he probably won’t be ever able to really control his power. Or at least use his full potential”

I petted his hair again “That’s really sad”

“That’s why I’m so glad that YOU are his friend. He will probably need someone who will be able to get to him and pull him out”

“Whatever he needs”

“I will keep you to that Dipper Pines. But we don’t have to be back right now, if Bill wants we can probably stay for few more days”

“Thank you so much. I will ask him”

Everybody around the table was starring at me as I still had hand in Bill’s silk-smooth hair and watched him taking calm breaths. Maybe I get to keep my friend for few more days.

“So…. He isn’t going to wake him up?”

***

“ _So what are you going to do when you come back home?”_

Bill was still sprawled over me and grinned “ _I’m going to burn Gleeful’s home”_

_“WHAT?”_

“ _He left, and he was very bad. They will let me burn it. Well I do it at night when no one can see but they won’t be mad at me. Mom said that the Tower finished investigations already so…”_

_“Tower?”_

“ _Oh that’s the-“_

_“HONEY! You can’t say anything to OUTSIDERS!”_

“ _But this is Pine tree. It’s okay when I tell him”_

She sighed defeated under the confident grin of her son “ _He has to promise that he won’t talk about it. EVER!”_

_“I promise. And I promise that I will never mention Bill’s name”_

She smiled kindly at me _“Okay Bill, tell him”_

_“Our country is very big, but all our government is focused to our main city Hess. There are five guilds. We have the Elders, they make rules and decides about punishments and trade with other countries and other stuff”_

Bill’s mom joined _“It has ten main members and you probably heard about most of them. All of them are strong magical creatures with reputation. We don’t have no rule about outsiders and as long as you are capable leader and have respect of people you can be one of them”_

Bill continued _“Then we have Shaira who specialize in fighting. It has around thousand members and the really important ones are the strongest three, the first three chairs. And the strongest one is my mum. We have this big tournament every ten years. They fight for two weeks about almost every position, you make a request for a fight and when you win you will have the opponent’s position. And the strongest gets the Swaika katana. It’s really cool sword and one of the relicts of Lost world._

_Then we have Damess. They are really mysterious and never told anyone about their positions and who is the strongest and nobody knows anything about them. Even my dad won’t tell me, and he is one of them. But they do assassinations and like to blow up things. My father is also great with drugs and poisons. Nobody knows how they determine that, but one person wears the Gries. It’s this strange coat that allows you to dissolve into environment, also one of relics._

_And then we have Cray. They have several positions where everyone is best in what they do. Like smith or healer. Last years it was twenty-five houses of magic art, some of them bigger than others”_

_“You said that there was five”_

_“Oh we have Tower. They are the masters of magic. There is ten seats and they can be left free for a long time, like seer, before was Llama born we didn’t had one for two hundred and fifty three years and she is still pretty much baby”_

_“That sounds interesting. What do they do?”_

_“…Mum?”_

_“They are in charge of developing new magic and are the keepers of history and library. The Tower means knowledge and progress. They help with the investigations of crimes and directly talk to Elders about their decisions”_

_“That sound so cool”_

Bill looked thoughtful before he nodded _“It kind of does”_

_“Do you know who you join?”_

_“I don’t really know. Maybe Shaira like my mum? But that would mean that I would had to fight all the time. And if I joined Damess I would had to kill people, which isn’t exactly bad but gets boring with time and they are always so serious”_

***

Bill was standing before me, black coat with hood ready to hid his face. His parents already hid they faces and now waited on Bill. To his surprise I pulled him into a tight hug “ _I will miss you so much_ ”

His voice was muffled by my shirt “ _Yeah, me too_ ”

I looked into his golden eyes and smiled. Bill was strange. He had attention span of algae if it didn’t involve magic or sweets. That was even worse because he had volatility of badly executed exploding spell. His morality wasn’t one of the best. But he was also the smartest person I ever met and ever meet. He generally liked me and cared about me. He taught me how to do magic. He taught me to listen to the stars even if he couldn’t hear them himself. Bill was amazing. Bill was my best friend. Oh, he was my best friend.

“ _You’re my best friend_ ”

Bill looked astonished but then smiled “ _You’re my best friend too_ ”

I pulled him into a hug one more time “ _Even if we don’t see each other for a while I promise that I won’t forget you_ ”

“ _You better, Pine tree. Just don’t let the teachers to make you stupid about magic_ ”

“ _I won’t. You know more, why I should listen to them?”_

Bill grinned excited “ _I promise that I will know even more magic to teach you when we meet again_ ”

“ _I’m counting on that_ ”

I squeezed him one last time and watched him to pull up the hood. The darkness consumed his face and he joined his parents. He gave me one last wave before his mom disappeared the three of them away. My eyes flooded with tears.

***

I took a empty seat next to the blond girl and looked expectantly at the teacher. “You are starting a year later so don’t worry if you have problems to catch up” I nodded feeling rather unsure and sad.

“I hope that everyone practiced during the summer. Now please look at the first assignment” the was piece of paper in glass jar “Please use your element”. That I can do. First, I let small plant grow from the paper, using his spirit to transform into seed and then into different matter. One small spark ignited the plant and left only dust behind. The wind was next, and the dust disappeared, but I could still feel the spirit and took half of the spirit into material world and manifested the paper again, this time it was smaller, but I can’t bend the rules of this world like Bill, so I hope this is enough.

I looked around the class and they all have eyes closed so I glanced confused at the teacher. His mouth was slightly open as he stared at me. What’s happening? The girl next to me open her eyes as the small flickering fire controlled by her magical circle went up. She smiled at me “Don’t worry, I had to try for three months before I could do it”

What is she talking about? Should I use element that I don’t have connection to? But I don’t have one like that. Did I mess up?

“Pines, I would like to talk to you after class. Now everyone open your books at page forty-six…“

I couldn’t focus at all and everything teacher said was confusing. It was like he spoke in half truths and everything was little off. When Bill explained thigs it was complicated, sometimes it took my days to understand, but in the end, it always made sense, that kind of sense I could feel deep down inside of me like inevitable true. Why is the teacher so confusing? Is this what was Bill talking about?

When the class ended I stopped before his desk and waited till everyone left the classroom.

“You didn’t use magic circle”

“My friends says that when you need circle to control the element they you aren’t really in control. Elemental magic should be something that you feel deep inside of you”

“And your connection is?”

“Spirit”

“Spirit is unbelievably rare, there wasn’t necromancer for almost two thousand years”

I pulled the hair from my forehead and pointed at my birthmark “I’m not necromancer. My friend says that I’m marked by the stars and therefore I can talk to the world beyond. I can talk to the long dead stars, the spirit they left behind when they burned, the spirit I can see behind the light others can see. When the stars gave me that gift they gave me a power to talk to all spirits of things. They couldn’t do one without the other”

“What do they tell you?”

“There are no words and others can’t know. Well my friend can know but only because he is special. The stars said so”

“Even if you have spirit connection, what you did isn’t possible”

“It is, I just pulled the spirit into material world”

“That’s unbelievably advanced magi”

“No, it isn’t. It’s just my element and it wouldn’t be any fun if I could only control the spirit of things. That was like the third thing I learned”

“But- That’s- Who taught you?”

“My best friend. He is REALLY good at magic”

“Let me get this straight. You have unformal training from this person. And that person taught you enough to graduate from here”

“He just taught me basic magic, we didn’t have much time, just few months”

“And he managed it in few months”

“We didn’t go over everything. For example, I can’t do any body modification. He said that it would be waste of time and energy since my talent is towards immaterial. He says that I’m bad enough on understanding things I’m talented at, so he would go mad if he had to explain something that will be hard for me”

“Who is this person? Do you think that he would consider working here?”

“His mom would say no, she’s worried that he would burn this place down. Plus, back home they have different education”

The teacher rubbed his temples “His mum…I will talk to the principal and see about giving you little more specialize education. I’m afraid that taking basic class would do damage to your understanding of magic”

“Oh, okay. So I didn’t do anything wrong?”

“Don’t worry, you aren’t in any trouble just the contrary. You’re the most talented pupil I ever saw”

***

I floated through the window and sat at the desk. Pine tree got me thinking what is happening here. The room was mess. It was overflowing with papers and there were three board with messy handwriting. Interesting. Blond haired man that was pulling at his hair looked at me. “You’re that child. That dream demon, Cipher something”

“Bill Cipher. What’re you doing?”

“Trying to figure out this new magic. Did you ever wondered why you can disappear objects but can’t bring them back? Where do they go?”

“That’s interesting. Where _do_ they go?”

He grinned at me “No one knows. That’s what I’m working at. If I find out where they go, maybe I can change the destination or open a way back. What if we can create a new destination with different properties? What if we can change a time flow in there?”

“That’s amazing. How you figure it out?”

“I study, I think, I try, and I fail, and I try again”

“That’s fascinating”

“So kid, do you know guild you gonna join? Last time I checked the First chairs were fighting who will gets you. Maybe try playing hard to get and win some bribes from them”

“Neh. I’m not that interested in them. They’re boring. Almost everyone is boring”

“Or maybe you’re just too smart. In few years you will be the only one that won’t need my new magic because you will find your own. Such a potential”

“Can I try?”

“Try what?”

“To figure out! The mystery! The question! I want to know the answer that no one else knows”

He grabbed the closest book and offered it to me “Read this”

“My eyes are broken”

“What?”

“I can’t see things that are very close”

“Jesus kid. Are you trying to tell me that you never read a book? That your understanding of magic just comes from you?”

I bared my teeth on his tone “I don’t need men that know less than me to tell me things”

He sighed and touched my forehead before creating a pair of glasses and resting them on the book “Everyone knows something. You, me, every person in this city, every person that ever lived. We are all wells of knowledge, but it differs from person to person. Read it, throw away that garbage that is wrong and save the rest. Use the parts that are new and useful. Don’t discard the knowledge you can get just because they were wrong about something else. There is a little piece of brilliance in all of us, you just need to go through all that garbage to find it”

I was watching him for a long time. He was probably right. Or at least right enough that I was tempted to try “Hey, can you be my teacher?”

“What? Are you serious?”

“You’re the most interesting one. Your work is fascinating. I want the answer and then I want another question!”

He started to laugh and patted my shoulder “You will do great here but why me? Why this guild?”

“Because you can teach me things I don’t know. You can teach me something completely new, new way to think. You can teach me how to ask question and how to answer them”

“Welcome to our guild Bill Cipher” I took the book and put on the glasses “So… who are you?”

“Figure it out” I started to laugh and made myself comfortable in the air. Riddles and mysteries, that’s what I’m going to do. Maybe my mom knew that I will love them. Or it was just stupid joke, either way I still love my not-real name.


	3. Part TWO ch.3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time skip- hooray

The men behind bar pointed at small door “Just go back through that door and would you be a sweetheart and bring me be some gangpo?”

“Sure but I’m looking for-“

“Just go in”

The room was really badly light and I had problems to see. But as far I could say it was empty. There were another door and when I entered there was another room. This one was more interesting. There were shelves with colourful chemical from floor to ceiling. There was also chemical equipment over the long desk. One more thing. There was IV stand with two bags, one blue and other purple, and the lines lead to stranger who was snoring at the table. His hood hid his face and soft snoring was coming from the chair. It would be rather adorable if he wasn’t drug-addict. I pulled the hood back and looked at the midnight- sky black hair. Damn. I always had a thing for a dark hair. And it absolutely doesn’t have to do anything with my childhood friend and his silky- smooth hair I still dream about even after ninety years. I wonder how Bill looks now. Probably great. Fuck. Maybe I get some fun from my trip even when he doesn’t help me to find Zero.

“Hello stranger”

He sat up and the hood slide from his head. It revealed fluttering golden eyes. Holly fuck, he is so pretty.

“Oh. It’s just you Pine tree. Be a good hallucination and go sit into corner till I my drugs kick in”

“Bill?”

“You look different since the last time you swing around. I like this look more but corner NOW”

“I’m not going to stand in a fucking corner”

“Fine do what you want” He started going through one of his drawers till he pulled the small vial with pink powder. When he started to dissolve it, I jumped towards him and slapped the injection from his hand. “Stop it right now”

“Fuck you. I already told you to be good hallucination and stay still and silent till you dissolve. And for the fuck sake stop touching me. I hate when they can do that. Maybe I should just pump up the dosage or add another-“

“I’m not your hallucination!”

Bill sneered “Like I never heard that before. Sit down and left me to-“

“NO! Bill look at me” I gripped his chin and pulled his face closer “I’m real and I’m so fucking glad to see you again” I pulled him into a hug, but he was like a doll in my hands, nonresponding and mellow. Fuck. “What do I need to do for you to believe that I’m real?”

“You’re not real and I’m not falling for this again” When I pushed him on arm’s length from me and looked at him his golden eyes were sad. My heart broke and I pulled him to me once more and buried one of my hand into his hair. Damn there were even softer than I remembered. Bill. My childhood best friend that I lost needs my help. I clutched him strong enough that I wondered why he didn’t start complaining by now, but he was still silent, and I hid my face into curve of his neck. He smelled of mint and chemicals. Fuck Bill. What happened?

I started petting his hair “It will be okay. We can deal with this. First I need to get you clean and-“

“I already told you the last time: I’m NOT getting clean”

“BILL! You listen to me. You’re coming with me and I make you better!”

“Bu-“

“Don’t fucking care! Where do you live?”

“Am I getting advices from homeless person?”

“Am I judged by drug addict?”

He deflated and looked at the floor “I have place in Hess. You can go there”

“Try again!”

“W- we can go there”

I smiled and pulled him for one more hug. Damn, I missed my friend. He put a little effort to stop me, but I still successfully unhooked the tubes and pulled out his cannula. The wound healed quickly, and I smiled at him “I promise that it will be fine. Okay?”. This time his arms wrapped around my neck and Bill hid his head into curve of my neck. “Fuck. One day I will say no to you”

“But not today”

“I try harder next time. Again. And fuck you by the way”

“You’re my best friend too. Now let’s go” I throwed one of his arms around my shoulder and my arms sneaked around his waist, little lower than I needed to but on my defence Bill was beautiful and never said world of complain. My hand slid over his ribs before it settled on his hip and I could feel the bones even under the black hoodie. He was so fucking skinny. Unconsciously I dig my nails into his skin but was just still slumped against me, breathing on my neck.

The guy from the bar stopped before me “Hey what are you doing?”

“I’m taking him home. When he gets clean he will probably contact you. Now get the fuck out of my way” I send a surge of my angry aura towards him and he made few steps back. “Chill out man. Cipher will be back in few months anyway”

“Bye Diego but I’m coming with my hallucination and I will be gone as long as he is here”

“Sorry to burst your bubble Cipher but he is a real person”

“You said the same about Pyronica “

“Fuck you. She was the love of my life and we had a child together!”

“Not my fault she was gone as I soon as I went on drugs and my powers went to shit” The men, Diego, was getting seriously angry and Bill wasn’t helping at all.

“Stop talking. Bill c’mon”

“Okay”

Mabel jumped towards me” What the hell did you did Dipper?!”

I grinned enthusiastically at her and pointed at the slouched and almost unconscious person “I found Bill”

“We were looking for Zero. ZERO! It’s nice that you found the person you were rambling about last ninety years but ZERO! You know, the only person that can fight Gideon?!”

“But he needs my help”

“He can wait”

“We been looking for that guy for twenty years. We have TIME. Plus, he lives in Hess. You can search in there if you want but I’m helping him”

“Are you serious? Do we really get access to Hess? That’s awesome”

***

I looked at the huge orb before me and then at Bill “So this is the Hess?”

“Sure it is. Just knock”

But before I had time somebody jumped from the stone part of the orb “Who are you? I don’t remember you two”

“Bill said that he lives here and I-“

“You found him?” The man run towards us and started grinning “That’s amazing. How you managed to bring him here? You need to tell me!” He was still grinning enthusiastically as he tried to pull Bill away from my arms but Bill just clutched stronger to me which resulted with me being pulled too. Stranger stopped and looked at me thoughtfully “Who are you?”

“I’m Dipper. Me and Bill met a long time ago and didn’t saw each other since”

He turned to my friend “Cipher?”

“They’re good”

“They still need to go before Elders”

That isn’t what I planned to do “I’m not going anywhere till Bill is better. He is barely conscious and as far as I can say he had done severe damage to his body and I didn’t even mention all the drugs in his system. And I’m not sure wha-“

“You any good at healing magic?”

“I’m using something different. I don’t heal, I regenerate. For a long time I was studying different mechanism how exactly regeneration works on cellular level and in fe-“

Mabel sighed “He is very good at healing magic”

“No Mabel you can’t lead on people it’s not-“

“I think that I actually heard about you. Intra de lasca? You moved to south and practically started new discipline in healing magic-” still not healing magic “-Tambry will probably hunt you down later and ask how you do it. But if you want my advice, don’t tell her”

“Why not?”

“If the stories are right then you could take her First chair in Healers house”

“I’m not really interested. Me and my sister are actually working on something different but then I met Bill and” I gestured towards the person slouched against me and couldn’t hold back the smile when I noticed one of his golden eyes half open and watching me.” Anyhow can we come in?”

“Sure. There is a red tower on your right. Just follow it and third floor is his. Keys are around his neck”

“Thank you so much”

“Just so you know, your sister has to see Elders, I really know nothing of her. And you will probably see them sooner than later”

Mabel just smiled “That’s fine. There is a chance they could help with something we work really long time on”

“I told you that I’m here to help Bill and therefore taking a break”

“You can do both, there is no-“

“I’m taking a BREAK till is Bill okay”

“Look at him! It will probably take years of intensive care to make him okay”

The men from the wall just shake his head “No. He will be on his feet few days after damage is gone and then will be okay for few months”

“I don’t like that. What will happen then?”

“He will be getting worse and after few months disappear again. He reminds me his mother in his age. She was handful too. One time was gone for five years. And actually, came back with Bill’s dad. No one knows where he came from, he just showed up with her one day”

Bill finally joined the conversation “She broke him out of prison. He was there for eighty- ninety years”

I looked at Bill “My parents didn’t have that good meeting story. Just true love and fighting for right to marry. No prison breaks, just a lot of politics”

He grinned at me “At lest WE have a good story”

“Oh you mean when you were assassin and come to kill me and my family but ended up with teaching me magic because I gave you sweets. Did I mention that you were like eight?”

“Good times, good times and you’re worse. You made that assassin your best friend” I laughed and pulled his limp form closer. “We do have a good story”

When I finally stood before the doors Bill had his eyes closed and breathed slowly as I carried his weight. He was barely any weight but that was beside the point. I needed the key.  I reached under his chin and pulled at the strand and soon found teeth in my hand. Immediately I let go and pulled his shirt up. There were several trinkets around his neck and tattoo of Cerberus over his heart. Cool. Right now I need animal teeth, baby bird skull, vial with something black and a burned twig. Everything highly useful.

I dropped Bill and leaned him against the wall. The door was strange. There was no keyhole, just a black hole that I wasn’t even slightly tempted to put my arm into it. So I grabbed the twig and shoved it into black hole, hoping for… well anything. I wasn’t expecting much but the door opened so I guess Bill opens his doors by poking into them by stick. Or that every one of these trinkets contains his magic signature and the charm on the door unlocks when it comes into contact with it. Great. Absolutely brilliant, creepy and something no one else has but I still had to smile as I pulled Bill from the floor. And to be honest it was more because he had still his shirt rolled up and his weird trinkets dangling over his naked chest.

Childhood friend. Best friend (which is rather sad that I wasn’t find new one over ninety years) and it’s not important how attractive he is. Or how strands of his dark hair fall into his face. Or his golden eyes that seems to shine under his half-lidded eyes. Or his perfect porcelain skin and that five, barely visible, faded freckles on his cheeks. They looked almost like someone tried to rub them away, which is real possibility with Bill. He probably wouldn’t like that his skin is suddenly spotted by some weird new colour. Which I think is adorable and not the point right now.

The apartment was huge and luxurious. Also it was full of magical circles and new spells written on ragged and dirty pieces of paper. There were random pieces of human and animal anatomy either in bone form or just parts flowing in closed jars. Every one of them had paper with writing. In the middle of room was strange statue made out of books, random pieces of furniture and his disturbing jars. It was fucking amazing and damn mess. Brilliant weirdo. I managed to locate his room and throwed him on the bed. This was as far as I could see the only room that was spared of his personal touch. Time to change its nice look. I pulled my brush and dig the razor on the other hand into my wrist. The blood started to leak out and I started to draw my magic around the room. This will probably take a lot out of me. When I was done I started the chantings.

Something felt over me, and I woke up with yelp. Bill was laying sprawled over me, looking disoriented around the room. “How the fuck did I got here?”

“You were really as high as a kite”

He ignored me as he stood up and FLOATED into the bathroom. Gravity? No, fuck that, just go around floating is cool. When he appeared again he barely gave me look and grabbed one of his books from nightstand and went into the living room. What the fuck?!

I followed him with some delay and found him sipping from bag of deep red liquid and reading the book like I wasn’t there. So I sat next to him and searched my pockets till I found candy. Now Bill was watching me thoughtfully as I throwed it into air and caught it again. I couldn’t help and smirk “Would you like a candy?”

“No. I would _love_ to” I throwed it into his mouth and he cautiously sucked and then gave me strange look.

“What?! They’re good. I got them in Feiq last month, they taste like hot summer”

“I never had them before”

“That was my last one”

“I didn’t ask for another ONE! I’m pointing out that my hallucination can’t give me anything new” That jerk poked into my cheek. Hard. And it fucking hurt. He was still starring at me “Waait a second here, Pine tree” Bill almost aggressively sucked on the candy “Are my hallucination slash psychosis slash magic creations getting stronger? Weeeell fuck” I smacked him over the head. Hard. I hope it hurts.

“I’m actually here, damn idiot. And we had this conversation before when you were drug out of your fucking freckles”

“They don’t come off!”

“I knew it!”

Both of us were grinning like idiots till Bill throwed himself around my neck “You’re here. HI” He screamed into my ear and I had to push him away because I’m fond of not going deaf. But this is more along the lines I was hoping for.

“So what did you did? I’m not high anymore and I feel great”

“You should. I done some extensive work on your body and managed to restore it into original. Think of it like you never had any drug. Ever. You’re free of your addiction. Be grateful”

“Thanks. You never forget your first and now I got to have two” I kicked him from the couch, but he was still laughing. He’s definitely coming back to drugs.

“What happened to your mom? She definitely wouldn’t approve”

“I’m nighty-eight, I barely need my parents’ consent for anything”

“Just share with me like a good demon and I promise I take you out for a lunch” Slight blush spread over his cheeks, but he still dangled the bag before my eyes. Drinking blood. Great but he is demon after all. “So I take you for dessert, who cares”

“Baby Satan! I don’t remember you being so annoying”

“I learned from the best”

“Who! I will DESTROY him!”

No need to say that I wasn’t impressed “I meant you, but be my guest and go ahead”

Bill just grinned and pulled by arm closer to his face. Were his teeth sharper or is it just my imagination? Bill bit into my forearm, strong enough to draw blood. Yep, certainly sharper. I kicked him lightly but he was just lapping the drops of my blood by his tongue and smiling quite sharply. That dick. If he just asked I would have let him “So do I pass the test?”

“Yep. I’m pretty sure that you’re real”

“Finally” I pulled him for a hug one more time and this time got only mint and blood from his scent. The younger boy squirmed from my arms and looked around the room “What a fucking mess”

“Yes you are”

“Says the person who keeps a projection of his long dead sister around”

“Oh she’s still alive. Which YOU did by the way. The unicorn you made as a child? It gave her immortality”

“I can’t give anyone immortality. Can I?” Bill shook his head “No, I can’t”

I lightly smacked him over the head “Don’t be stupid, it doesn’t suit you”

“To my defence I did a lot of stupid weird things as a child” I pointedly looked over the room.

“Sorry, I think that’s just your personality” Bill grinned, and his eyes shined like two bright suns.

“I’m probably guilty”

“Thanks for that”

“Sure. It was intentional from the beginning” sarcastic ass.

“I know it was accident, but I didn’t had to grow old without my sister” Bill snorts at the grow old and I elbow him right into the ribs “YOU don’t say anything! The biological age of that body is probably eighteen”

“Nineteen and you look barely twenty”

“It’s pretty fucked up. I don’t even age like normal magical creature. I should look about thirty and I’m still stuck like this, but I don’t have to tell you about it”

“Being Istortal sucks”

“What?”

“Bribe me”

Without thinking I pulled one of my rare ancient books from my bag and offered it to him “I want it back” but he just smiled and nodded.

“There are two ways how magical creatures age. The regular one where they grow up slowly till they reach biological twenty-thirty and are stuck there for about sixty years and then slowly grow older and older. Life span is then about three-four hundred years”

“And Istortals?”

“They are the rare magical creatures that age differently. It doesn’t matter what are you, no one knows why. They grow old with experience and mental damage. We are practically immortal if you don’t count physical damage. Chance that one of us dies of old age is pretty much none. You would need pretty shitty life for that. Trauma gives you years”

“So when my parents died and I got three years older?”

“Traumatic death? Suck for you and I guess little for them”

“Gideon killed them. How about yours?”

“My mom’s magic was based in chaos and she went insane under the Red Shadow. That magic was always fucking up her head, but she was in control but fifty years ago she lost it and never came back. We fought her with dad and voila, both of them death”

“I’m still trying to get revenge with my sister”

“I went on drugs because if my mom, the strongest person I knew, couldn’t keep her sanity then I don’t stand a chance”

“Well we’re both a little fucked up”

“Cheers on that” He sucked from the bag and looked around the room lost in thoughts.

“Can I take you on that lunch? We can clean after”

“Don’t you want to stay here? I will go out” No fucking way I stay here and clean while he is out.

I sneered “You’re not even trying”

“Girl can hope, Pine tree. You always liked things clean”

“You’re an ass Cipher” I couldn’t help myself and smiled little maniacally as I stood up and yelped again at the thing I saw. It was half-hiding under the couch and wriggling. Too many eyes blinked at me “What the fuck is that?! It looks like it crawled from somebody’s nightmare”

“It LITERALLY did. And 47 is harmless. They’re not magical creatures, they’re not even real…” he rubbed his temples “…they’re just manifestations of nightmares”

“I thought that you can’t do nightmares”  

“I just needed some material. Nightmares crawl from deepest places of our minds and children don’t have them. Only after other people put them in”

“You used to give name everything that came from your mindscape”

“I don’t like the nightmare creatures. They’re stronger than normal ones and I feel like I’m losing control. After Gibi, which was like number seventy-five, I gave up and started giving them numbers”

“Lunch? You can have my cookies. I didn’t exactly keep our deal, but I didn’t have a way how to send them to you”

“Maybe I should burn this reality. After all you broke a deal we made when we were kids”

“Ass. If you don’t-“

“Sure I want them. But you look like you need a sugar-high”

“I restore my energy with sleep, like rest of normal creatures? Not by eating myself to sugar coma or diabetes”

“You’re just jealous~ because I’m awesome” Bill singsong and danced out of the room, swinging his hips and I had to smile. He just gets more awesome with years.


	4. Part TWO ch.4

“Hey, did you hear? Cipher’s back”

“Are you serious? Did he already gave up the new magic? The Contest is coming and I would _metaphorically_ kill someone just to boost my powers” I grinned at that. No wonder that everybody was so excited about the spells. Bill is after all brilliant.

Beautiful redhead sat before me and pusher another cup of coffee towards me “Hi. I’m Wendy and you’re Cipher’s messenger. Didn’t saw you here before. I’m Red and just so you know Robbie is Broken heart”

“Thanks, Appreciate the coffee too. You know rest of the nicknames? They make sense when I see the person, but it would make my work much faster if I knew”

“Sure and tell Cipher that I will try for First chair this year. I would love to if he was there”

“Friend?”

“Teacher”

“How old are you?”

“We’re about the same age but he is…”

“I get it he’s brilliant”

“That he is”

With a help of Wendy I finished my round fast and headed back to his apartment. Next to the tower I found a litter of kittens. The smallest one was black and couldn’t help but smile at that little furry ball. Bill could use some company, so I picked it.

I knocked at the door and Bill opened it no time. Wearing loose clothes and black-rimmed glasses. Damn he looked great, just like always.

“Hey Bill, look what I have” I hold the black kitten before his face. To he honest the black of his fur wasn’t as black as Bills hair. It was almost like his hair devoured every piece of light.

“What’s that?” He dabbed into its forehead and the kitten started to purr. Lucky me.

“I found your cat. It was outside, and you should look after her better”

Bill caught out with my thoughts immediately “I’m not getting a cat. If I wasn’t immortal I would be dead long time ago” He pointed his thumbs on himself “Not a great caretaker”

“That’s what you think” I pushed into the room and put the kitten down. It seemed rather interested in one of Bills nightmare creations and started to play with its tentacles. I don’t have any idea how I did it, but I found perfect cat.

“Just feed it from time to time and she will be happy. Now I want to talk about the theory you’re working on. How exactly should the element creation work?”

“It won’t be exactly element per se. Just as every known element mirrors nature then it should be possible to create something new if we gave it a new object to mirror-“ The cat jumped into Bills lap and he looked rather startled but he was to exited by our conversation to do anything.

“That would allow you to create new, weaker but still new elements-“

“Doesn’t have to be weaker. Firstly if you create new element that mirrors you, that grants complete connection to that element. And second one, which probably will be hard and rare is to create element from someone that is already in nature but it’s immaterial. Take for example anger. It’s emotion but-“ His fingers unconsciously started petting the black kitten and I had to smile at the purring. So I finished his train of thoughts “-you could use it to power your magic, project in onto others and even boost your physical abilities”

“Exactly”

“How far are you?”

“I can do it but that isn’t the goal, the point is to make it accessible to others. Come up with new magic I can do is easy, but let others use it, always the hard and exciting part”

“To be honest I don’t have any idea how I would even attempt something like that. By the way everyone was amazed by the magic I gave them. I have like two billion in some currency and few rare objects. They’re awesome. You’re brilliant just so you know”

“I’m good at magic. Nothing new there. Just put that stuff into the back room, and take anything you like as a thanks for being my messenger”

“You can’t be serious. This stuff is priceless” He looked into my hands and sneered “Just stuff.  Because they’re ancient doesn’t mean they are great. I can do better magic than is on most of those objects”

“Still absolutely brilliant. How are you gonna name her?”

“I’m thinking of Lucifurr”

“She’s a she”

“Her Majesty Wicca”

“Good name” he was still starring at the little ball of black fur in his lap like he couldn’t believe that she is really there.

“Hmm”

“Wendy, Red, says that she will try for first chair in tournament and would love if you were there”

“~Oh, you like her~”

“She’s cool”

“Ask her out”

“What? Are you sure?”

“I have to work anyway. Go out and have some fun”

“I should-“ Bill stand up and pushed me out of the door ”Out. Fun. Now”

“Wait. I still have the money and the objects”

“Spend it, buy yourself a hat, I don’t give a shit, and tell Red that I maybe come to see the contest”

“But Bill”

Only silence came from other side of the doors and I sighed. I guess that I’m getting some new books and asking Wendy out.

***

I knocked at Bill’s doors and it opened. The place was mess again with all of his work spread around. It was incredible, so much of new possibilities. He really is brilliant. I should probably play messenger again when he is in the mood. Or maybe take him out before he throws me out. Something rubbed over my thigh and I jumped away with short scream. The kitten I gave him few months ago was purring as she nuzzled me once again.

“Bill?” He leaned from his bedroom, toothbrush in his mouth and pyjama still on. Six o’clock in the evening and just waking up, why the hell not. It probably had to do something with his dreams. If he walks into others dreams in his sleep then it would only made sense to sleep when is most people awake. But that wasn’t the problem “Why the fuck is your cat as big as small pony?”

“I don’t know. She was just growing and growing and after she was bigger than chair I thought it was weird but who am I to stop her? So be cool with it, it was her choice”

“What the fuck are you talking about? You don’t choose your size”

“Sure you do. Just look at me. I’m high enough to reach on most shelves but still comfortable in public transportations, I don’t bang my head on low ceilings, don’t have any problems find fitting clothes, can fit comfortably into my bead without curling… This height is prefect and when I need to reach higher, I float. All the perks and none of the holdbacks of being tall”

“Like a person that opened his scalp on the ceiling I will admit that your height is perfect, but you didn’t CHOOSE it”

“Sure I did” Fuck I forget that this was Bill talking.

“Okay let me say it little different. Rest of us didn’t choose our height, we just grow and then we stop, it doesn’t matter how comfortable we are with it”

“Sucks to be you”

“No kidding. You ready to go?” After quick stop in the bathroom Bill throwed his comfortable pyjama away and pulled worn out ragged jeans that looked like they were in the sun too long and loose-fitting black shirt with Dey’s paradox joke.

He was by my side in no time, not even bothering with shoes because and I’m citing: _Why the fuck I would need them when I don’t walk. Did we just meet?! If yes then look at me, this thing I do, I mean that I’m not touching the floor, just gently floating above it? Cool, right? Now shut the fuck up Pine tree._ To be honest I couldn’t muster enough energy to fight with him so who cares? He is right after all. He is always right.

Bill grabbed my hand and pulled me toward one of the street shops. The nice lady brightens up and waves at Bill “Long time no see. I expected you to be before my door the minute you were clean. As you say, _sugar high is better than drug high. Well not really but let’s pretend, at least for now_ ”

Bill laughed “Hi Melody~. This time I’m not clean, I’m free of my addiction. Think of it as brand-new body and brain. Never created the habit which is Pine tree’s work”

“I’m glad that you’re okay. What can I get you?”

“I want finger smoothie, no thumbs please”

“What the fuck? Do you mean human fingers?”

“Yeah. Every human that made a deal with demon is giving us right to sell him for food. That’s the price they pay. Few years of their biggest wish come true and then we will get to eat them”

“Gross”

“No way. Delicious. I do love human fingers almost as much as sugar, but NO thumbs. Thumbs are gross”

My stomach turned “Sure” at least he draws a line somewhere.

“Pine tree will have one of those ghost drinks you make”

In few moments the lady was handing us two cups. Bright red for Bill and light yellow for me. I carefully took a sip. It was smooth and cold as it slid down my throat and tasted of magic and electricity. The strange liquid left tingling sensation in its wake and I grinned at Melody. “Don’t know what this is but I love it. How much do we owe?”

But she looked surprised “Oh. Don’t worry about it. You’re with Cipher so it’s free”

I gave her small bow “Thank you” but Bill was already on his way, floating into the crowd and I had to run to catch up. He led to a small gallery and took a seat, or rather floated gently an inch over the chosen chair. There were about fifty chairs and most of them empty.

Wendy, my new girlfriend was standing in the arena against brown haired men, Joseph and they were getting to fight. I’m glad that Bill decided to come along. The fighting was happening for two weeks and this was the last fight. From what Bill and Wendy told me this was fight for First chair in one of the guilds. First chairs were pretty big deal for them when told by Wendy and _useless because we can’t generalize the talents and abilities of people_ , once again directly citing Bill. I’m glad that his tendencies to look at others as his inferior are gone. To be honest he has a reason to think that, he is after all brilliant and little bit of magically superior to everyone, but he still sees worth in others. It’s little bit of awesome. I don’t know when that happened, I’m well aware that he was little heartless and moral-less back in the days but now? He is fucking perfect. That ass doesn’t help at all. Just growing more amazing with each day.

I ruffled his hair, but he just pushed my hand away and slurped on his fingers.

“Do you think that Wendy wins?”

“No she won’t. I trained both of them, and right now, Twig is stronger. He won’t be for long but there is only three percent chance that she wins today. Red knows that”

“Then why is she fighting? She was the one who challenged him”

“She needs experience combating him and next contest she will win”

“You like her more, you send her all of that magic”

“Yeah. She’s great warrior but I want all of them in high ranks. She already shared my magic with all my _Gelms_ in guilds”

“ _Gelms_?”

“These I trained. Others call them _Gelms,_ it means _black hole,_ don’t ask me why they call them that. Anyhow right now I have about twenty of them and you brought my magic to some of them and to people I like”

“Wait a second. There should be some official way how to distribute new magic so it would be fair and no-“

“There is nothing like that. I just solve mysteries, make magic and do what I want. It’s awesome. No supervision or anything like that”

“Pretty fucked up system” but Bill just laughed “The magic finds a way, in few months they will share the magic with everyone. I don’t give my magic just to anyone and not everyone can control it. When my chosen people learn it or give up on learning it they pass it on. I don’t choose assholes, they would capitalize on it and sell it to others. I don’t want that. I just free my magic into the world and it flies away”

“Weirdo” But I love when you talk about magic. You speak like it is alive and I could listen to you for hours, for days and for years.

Bill just grinned and looked at me under his half-lidded eyes, one of his black strands felt into his face. Damn, he was precious. “What are you working on Pine tree? I can’t figure it out”

“Didn’t you hear the rumours?”

“Sure I did. But you are better than that. I know you”

“Mabel really wants to do it and I want to do it for her”

“That sounds more like you. So you need Zero’s help right?”

“Yeah”

“The First chair in Reis guild is called Zero”

“Are you serious? Do you think that Joseph will help?”

“He will be excited. That suicidal maniac was begging the Elders for a chance to take Gleeful for years”

“But if they didn’t let him then h-“

“I’m already watching Gleeful, after he started taking over South I kept my eye on him. Right now, I’m not sure if he will be threat to us but better to be safe than sorry. I will talk with the Elders”

“You would do that for me?! Thank you so much” I pulled him into a tight hug and rested my head on his smooth hair. Bill was incredible.

“Geez Pine tree. Hold your horses and don’t spill my fingers. Nothing is sure”

“Still I’m really grateful”

“You should talk to Red. She will be sad that she lost”

“It’s over?” I didn’t get to see any of that. That’s what I get for taking Bill with me but I already knew that. He is the perfect distraction. I still refused to let him go “Stay here I will talk with her real quick. I want to see the new elemental magic, you finished it right?”

“Yesterday”

“And there will be party tonight”

“I shouldn’t be at place that has drugs. I’m a high risk of relapse”

“That’s why I’m coming with you. I’m your babysitter”

Bill glared but didn’t protest so I let him go and pushed the straw between his lips “Enjoy your fingers and I will be right back”

Wendy was waiting on me before the entrance to the arena, few medics around her but she seemed okay. I smiled at her “So the next contest is yours?”

“I hate that Cipher knows what I plan”

“He is quite amazing. Did you know that Bi-”

“NOT FUCKING AGAIN! It’s like you don’t even care about me. All you care about is CIPHER. He is the centre of your fucking universe and I don’t get even honorary medal”

“Calm down Wendy. He’s my best friend. I knew him for almost hundred years. I love hanging out with you, but he is more important to me, I thought that you knew and understood that”

“It’s more than that. You adore and admire him. You know that you love him, right?!”

“Of course, I know”

“What?...Then why did the two of us started to date?!”

“That I love him doesn’t mean that he loves me back. Or even that I really love him that way. Who knows…” I put my hand into my pockets and looked on ground.

“You’re even worse than him. How the fuck do you manage not to care about anything? You don’t even care about what you feel!”

I sneered “I don’t need to sleep with Bill to love him…” I sighed and continued “He is like a bright sun. I fear that… What if I burn to dust?”

Wendy only stared at me as I smiled “Thanks for hanging out with me. It was fun and I’m glad that you agreed to it so thanks” I turned around and run the steps back to Bill who was starring at me with almost closed eyes, trying to figure out what was that about. “C’mon. We have two more hours before the party and I really want to learn that new magic”

Bill pouted on that “Sure, just quick visit to the apartment and you will get it. You always get it. Others need months to learn it, but sure, two hours are enough for you”

“Ohh. Are you angry that I get your magic so fast? Would you rather to watch me struggle?”

“~Maybe~. At least a little would be nice”

“I can pretend”                               

“Fuck you. It’s only because your magic is so similar to mine”

“Wait, what?”

“Spirit element. You work with same principles of reality as me”

“But dreamwalk-”

“You already know that I’m more than that. If you were unable to move spirit and I dreams it wouldn’t be similar at all. But since we both can…”

That made sense. I grinned and ruffled his hair “I can still pretend that I don’t understand when you talk about magic”

“Well fuck you. I will take the intelligent conversation please, or at least how close I can get to it with you”

“That I can do too. And with little more excitement”

“I hate your face”

“You love it just admit it. Just like you love my shitty humour”

He mimicked my neutral tone “I’m laughing right now, can’t you see?”

We grinned at each other and I took his hand, so he won’t decide to float away.

***

The party was in full life when we finally reached the house, or more like a mansion. I have to admit that I like when I have Bill only for myself. He is so much fun to hang out with. We spend two hours playing Exploding Runes, with few Bill’s modification that resulted with lost of hand with every lost game but with my regeneration it wasn’t really problem. And the bloody mess in his apartment didn’t bothered Bill at all so it was fun.

Immediately after we entered they pulled Bill away from me with something: _Cipher you made it. Great can I talk to y_ … That left to me to entertain myself for few hours.

I found someone interesting. Some tall older blond that watched my fried way to focused. His eyes were following Bill around and I thought of approaching him but then I saw how Bill jumped on him and hugged him. That is something I immediately hated. Absolutely hated with anger burning like the three suns exploded in my chest. _If he won’t take his hands out of my demon immediately, I’m going to break them._ From where the fuck that came from?! I massaged my temples and tried to keep my weird fucked-up thoughts back in my mind. When I looked up again Bill was dragging the blond person towards me.

“Pine tree this is-”

“Wait a second!” He pushed his glasses higher on his nose and smiled “This is your famous friend?”

That for some strange reason angered me even more “How is that he is the only person who ever heard about me?”

“Duh. I’m not going to talk about you just to anyone. This is my teacher Lemli”

The blond grinned “I want to thank you for sending Bill my way”. No definitely hate him, he is the only one that calls him Bill.

“Send him your way?”

“The two of you talked about our guild and Bill was curious what we did. I was at the time unofficial leader of the research and Bill broke into my facility. We talked and asked if I will be his teacher”

“You taught Bill magic?”

“To be honest he taught me more magic that I him. But I was good on other stuff, citing: _people, garbage and the weird concept my friend calls morality_ ”

“He taught me how to discover secrets of magic and then I ha…” I looked once again at the blond men while Bill was still rambling about magic. Maybe he isn’t so bad. He ruffled Bill’s hair and my friend just grinned. No, still hate him and kind of love him because he looked after Bill all these years. He is probably the reason why is Bill such nice person. Very carefully so no one will notice I moved closer to Bill and throwed my arm over his shoulders. In few more seconds I moved him away from Lemli. The blond men just smiled but Bill was blind to what I did. It was adorable because he was still talking about magic.

Somebody moved between Bill and Lemli “Cipher. Could you pleeease come with me and win me an argument? I’m right. I’m definitely right but-“

I could only watch with broken heart as that person dragged Bill away. My now free arm pulled at my hair and I sighed. I just got him back and he is gone again.

Lemli patted my shoulder gently “Can you tell me your name? Bill would never told me and throwed fit when I called you by that nickname an-“

“Dipper Pines”

“I’m actually Andre Timey but Lemli stuck with me since I met Bill. He will be back just, so you know. You’re like his greatest obsession, even magic and sweets come second”

I sneered “I will hardly believe that. That are _sweets and magic_ you are talking about”

“Oh I’m serious. I don’t know almost anyone here, I was long for too long, but still in all these years he never introduced me to anyone”

“That really isn-“

“You got him here. I tried last forty years and all I ever managed was to be thrown out. But you- even if he was just hallucinating you- managed every time. And the real you is even more effective. All I ever done was to keep him from doing something seriously stupid”

“What do you know about what happened?”

“Jessie went insane under the Red Shadow. That happens with power like that, it screw up their bra-“

“Yeah, yeah. Overactivation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, increased density of pyramidal cells, reduced cortical thickness in the superior temporal lobe, increased levels of dopamine and reduced NMDA receptors. I know what strong magic does to people, I wrote a few papers on it and researched it into details”

“Whoa. Didn’t expected that”

“I know that people born with magic that strong struggle every day to keep their sanity” I have to thank to my stars later for making me to research that subject.

“Bill got scared. He had to kill his mother and used up quite a bit of his powers. He was experiencing the early symptoms, so he run away and used drugs to supress his powers, stopping the damage for a while”

I pulled at my hair “Fuck. I hoped that he will be one of those rare exceptions”

“Did you find out something in your research?”

“I can regress some of the damage but nothing ground-breaking”

“You are the one with the regeneration- the Intra de lasca- guy. Cool name by the way”

“Yeah that’s me”

“You should tell Bill that you can do that. I actually wanted to find you. I may travel around a lot, but I always look for something that could help Bill with the Red Shadow”

“I will. Thanks for looking after him”

Lemli gave me intense stare “He likes me and thinks that I’m interesting but I’m not important to him. He will never listen to me. You- you on the other hand are-” he shake his head “Just look after him at least as good as I could”

“I do my-“ Bill jumped on my back “He was incredibly wrong. It was so much fun to go point after point over the reason why is he stupid” I guess that Lemli was right, Bill came back after all.


	5. Part TWO ch.5

Mabel and Joseph were waiting on me before the gates and I turned to Bill one last time “I hate this”

“It will be fine. Just…maybe… come to visit me from time to time?”

That is what he is worried about? “The second this is over I’m back here. I’m pretty sure they will let me back in. They will, right?” Just say anything stupid that comes to your mind. Anything so Bill’s stupid sad face will go away.

“Yes Pine tree, they will let you back here”

“Would they let me in if you weren’t here?”

“Maybe. They like you so probably yes”

I sneered “They like me only because I’m good for you. They like me because you like me. You like me, right?”

“No I hang out with you because you have brown hair and can speak with the stars”

“To be honest you are my best friend because I adore your black hair and like your stupid face”

Bill continued with dry tone “Ohh. You like my stupid face. Such compliments.”

“So what do you think about my face?”

“Hate it. Horrible face, it is astounding that you didn’t change it yet”

“I love how your eyes change colour, I love that shades of gold that shines more than any jewellery”

That compliment still didn’t impressed Bill and he sneered “Still hate your face”

“I absolutely adore that five freckles, and even more, I’m in love with the fact that you tried to rub them away. And little bit in the fact that it kind of worked”

Bill was red before whispering “I like your stupid face too. Happy now?”

“Very” I pulled still blushing Bill into a hug “See you in a few months”

“You better keep it Pine tree”

“Anything you want”

***

I had to do something stupid and I was already regretting it. This was the most magi hating city in the world and I had to go in. Maybe I could go few days without food. It was fucking ridiculous. Even in magic community people were looking at me like I was child but places like these were even worse. They won’t let me to have drink for fuck sake.

There was huge crowd and I decided to join and find out what it was. People were excited, and the atmosphere was getting to me. So I just enjoyed the coffee and waited for it the end. One men dragged another one on the podium. I’m about to witness execution. Great.

I looked aside and tried to blend into the crowd. They cheered again and I sighed. There is probably nothing I can do. There is too many people for me to fight. Poor magi.

The crowd cheered again and I decided to look. Maybe that poor magi has family I meet later. Someone should know who he was. I looked up and froze. Bill. My best friend was starring into the crowd with smirk on his adorable face. But then his gaze met my eyes and he froze too.  I watched him as the blade went down.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

My eyes flooded with tears and I sat down on the ground. People around me started leaving, probably some after party. And I was left alone. All alone. Parents. Sister. All my human friends were long dead. And now this. My best friend. I continued crying on the ground. Something gently run over my shoulder, but I just shake the other person off. Not in mood for strangers.

“Pine tree don’t be like that. I don’t like it. STOP IT”

I looked up. Bill was there, starring down at me, his eyes red and sad. Is he crying? When we were children he sometimes reflected my emotions but later he showed no sign of it. Does that mean that it was his projection that died? But it was too convincing for illusion. Am I seeing ghost? But even if I’m talented with spirit I’m not necromancer. I can’t see dead. Or maybe I finally cracked. After all these years I finally lost my marbles. That one is probable. I’m seeing things. Great.

He touched my shoulders again and it felt real. It felt so much real. Just like every other moment Bill even touched me. It was… it was… shivers of disgust run through me.

“Don’t touch me”

This time Bill started to really cry. I never saw that before. My head is really fucked up and I all I want to do is comfort this hallucination “Please. Please. Please. Don’t be mad at me. Please. I didn’t know. I’m sorry. Pine tree. Pl-“

“What are you talking about?”

“I should have stop it. I didn’t know you were here but then I saw you and I froze and I didn’t have the time to disappear the project-“

I looked up to him “It was projection?”

“Don’t be mad at me please”

“How… how do I know I’m not hallucinating you?”

Bill laughed bitterly “You don’t know. That’s the worst part of it. You can never fully know. Look at me and tell me what you think?” He was still the same. Long black coat and loose clothes. His eyes were still the same, even through they were still little red. Hair were different. Part of them, the right side was cut short and his ear was decorated by number of earrings. Cute asshole. BUT something could work. I leaned closer and sucked on the black earing that didn’t shined like others. It was strange taste, nothing like I ever tasted before and not metallic like I expected. I pulled away and Bill was starring at me with his golden eyes open wide in surprise. “What it is made of? I never saw material like it before, it doesn’t taste like metal. It taste like…“ It was almost familiar and very nice and tingly.

Bill stuttered “I-it’s made out of my magic”. That I never saw before too.

“Cool. Didn’t know how your magic taste like but it’s definitely like that. Hallucination can produce anything new, right?”

That ass just laughed and hugged me “Worked with you. But I have huge stack of candy, you could have just ask”

I gave him unimpressed look “I’m not eating your candy. They are the source of your power”

Candy was throwed with utmost precision into his mouth and he grinned “That they are. And the fact that you refused one is exactly the reason why you are my best friend and I love you”

I could only stare at him after that. That is exactly something that would my brain cooked up. There was a little red scar right under his eye. That was strange. I touched it and asked “What happened?”

“I was testing one of my new magic, it kind of exploded and I got hit. But the second part of the spell worked perfectly. The shrapnel completely restricted my regeneration. It healed like I was human. It was hilarious, it bled for so long and then the scabs. Srabs! Who know when you picked them it would start bleeding again? It was the big event of that summer for me” I had to smile. My brain couldn’t come up with anything like that together with that expression of excitement and happiness.

 “What happened in Hess?”

“Home is fine. I was bored and restless. I felt like I need to do something. I always do after a while, you kept me distracted but then you weren’t around, and I was seriously tempted to do few stupid things, so I needed distraction. Now I just travel around”

“And why exactly did you left your projection to be executed?”

“I wanted to figure out what would had to happen for them to change their mind about magic”

“There isn’t anything like that, short of overthrowing local government”

“There is. There are three people who could change it. If I kill them, the people here would slowly start depending on magic and the sanctions and death sentences would be gone”

“Are you serious? Three people?”

“Three. I needed to go through the process to find out-“

“You’re genius. You’re the greatest person that ever lived. I have complete confidence in you so let’s kill them” and for the first time there wasn’t any sarcasm in my words.

“Wait, what?”

“Let’s kill them”

He looked suspicious “And you are okay with that?”

“I JUST SAW MY BEST FRIEND DIE. And why? Because of THEM”

“Wasn’t real”

“Doesn’t really matter. The damage is done. I want them dead”

“Hmm. What happened to Shooting star and Twig?”

“Dead”

“Oh, now it makes sense” Then he grinned mischievously and leaned closer “Let’s go on a murder spree. First these three assholes and then Gideon” My heart started to beat faster. That is exactly what I want and need right now. How the fuck does he always knows? Let’s get out a lot of aggression and anger while we do something good.

“Absolutely NOT”

“Ooooh. You think that I’m not strong enough?”

“You’re absolutely brilliant but your powers are based on manipulating the reality. Highly technical magic that you do isn’t the same as combat magic which is higl-“

Bill gripped my shirt and pulled me up so I was kneeling before him and looked down at me “Listen to me you piece of garbage. No one, not even YOU, looks down on me! You’re looking at only person that held First chair in Shaira and Damess simultaneously. For forty fucking years straight. I hold four chairs in the Tower even when I was on drugs that supress my powers. So kneel the fuck before, utter me a prayer and let’s go” Bill’s eyes were red and his sharp teeth were bared. He was never mad at me before and it shouldn’t be so hot. It definitely isn’t hot. I can’t lie to myself, it is very hot. What the fuck is wrong with me? I could only stare at him. Maybe I could offer him a prayer. His power was never the problem. There are just some things I wasn’t ready to sacrifice. I wanted to keep Bill safe and healthy even if rest of the world would have to burn for it. “But what do I do if you die?!”

“Don’t care, that’s your problem not mine”

“What if I die?”

“I’m either dying with you or both of us are walking out so don’t do anything stupid”

“That is too much of a risk for revenge that I want to get because that was what my sister wanted”

Bill just sneered “I wouldn’t feed your need for revenge; its concept is ridiculous because there is no free will. I made some predictions and in three more years, sooner if he was able to kill Twig, I would probably had to take some kind of action to stop his influence spreading anyway. I like my comfortable life and I’m not planning to change it any time soon”

“You’re like princess, sitting in your velvet tower and looking down on us, the commoners” Bill surprised busted down laughing and finally let me go. I miss my angry and hot Bill. But the easiness and laughter were great too.

Finally, he wiped the tears, grinned at me and continued in even higher pitch “Pine tree, darling, isn’t it rather dangerous to use your entire vocabulary in a single senten-“ Both of us busted laughing. I guess that we are coming to kill Gideon together. Just like that? Why does everything have to be so simple when it comes to him? Damn that raven but I still had to smile. How in the world I found myself so prefect best friend? It’s strange how easy everything becomes with some people. Or one person. I really do love him. To be honest how could I not?

Bill was starring at me while I was lost in my thoughts but then he smirked and pulled me with him as he started to float away “You literally grow two years older and then younger before my eyes. It was fucking hilarious Pine tree. Can we do it again?”

“Fuck you Cipher”

“Don’t be rude or I will murder you in your sleep”

“Yess princess, your wishes are my religion”

“So, I’m still a princess?”

“You’re pretty enough to be one so deal with it”

He sucked thoughtfully on his sharp canine and that gesture definitely didn’t send shivers down my back “Will you call me Highness? That could be cool”

“I’m going to call you Majesty”

“No Wicca is the queen, so she is Majesty and that would left me with Highness”

“Why does your cat have higher status than you?”

“She called it first. Obviously”

“Sure. Obviously “ I laughed and throw my hand over his shoulders. It’s fucking adorable that he lets his cat to walk all over him. And that he lets, even a little, me do that too. He can be such nice person when he wants to. That is when it occurred to me. He doesn’t want to hurt anybody just to hurt them. Sure, sometimes he does pretty cold decisions but there is no malice behind them. He doesn’t hurt others to gain something selfish. He hurts them to protect something. He deals with his addiction and weird tendencies by going around and making a world a better place. Even if he doesn’t say it out loud or even acknowledge it. He needs something to do and doing things for other people, more complicated the problem the better, is just something that works for him. Shit. I love him so much.

***

It was the SummerPrayerDay and all the citizens were slowly leaving their homes and the city too. I could never understand why Gideon build his government on religion, that he was head of, but it was effective after all. I looked at Bill who was laying on his stomach next to me.

“Why didn’t we bring anyone else? I’m pretty sure that one visit to Hess would give you a small army. They adore you”

“It would take too much time. I can’t just take away the main part of our army, which my _Gelms_ are. We would never get permission and actually moved under two years. We don’t have time for it”

“And you aren’t the main part of the army?” Bill gave me crooked grin “I’m kind of retired? I was always a wild card and I’m much more comfortable in my guild then three at once. I love my riddles and magic. The excitement was fun for a while, but I couldn’t stick with it, wasn’t healthy for me”

“I get it. Hey… You know after this is over, could we… I don’t know. Maybe do something together?”

“What?”

“I don’t know. I’m homeless and you are my only friend”

“You want to stay with me?”

“Now, I don’t know anymore. Stop being a dick and tell me if I have a chance?”

He pulled one of his weird trinkets, the baby bird skull and slide it over my head “Sure. I would love to”

“Gross. Can I get the twig?”

“No. Give me back Jeremy if you don’t want him”

I looked into the black eyes of the dead bird “Jeremy?”

“They all have a story. When I was a kid, even before I met you, I tried to save this baby bird that felt from the nest. His wing was broken, and I tried to fix it. I know the theory, but you already know that my magic is too destructive for healing. That small and weak system couldn’t handle it and he died. If I brought him to healer, he would be okay. The thing is, Pine tree, we all have tools for something. And when you use wrong tools it ends up in disaster. Anyhow the moral of this is that Jeremy is dead and we all have our tool-sets”

“So why do I get him?”

“Because” Bill smiled and shake his head “You’re the baby bird, what’s mine is yours and this time I have the right tools”

“Wait, what?”

Bill smiled at me and moved towards the city from our hideout.

“This isn’t over Cipher” I hissed and watched his back as he walked towards the abandoned city.

In half an hour the temple, that was our target exploded. Really exploded. Like, it exploded, went up in flames and the flames spread over the city in few seconds. I never saw anything like this. It shouldn’t even be possible. That much power. Maybe I underestimated Bill after all.

The second Bill climbed up I could only stare at him, but he just grinned at me with strange look. He had crazed and somewhat happy gaze in his eyes. Like he just saw the darkest parts of the world and there couldn’t be anything more fun than that. “What can I say? I was always sucker for senseless destruction”

“But the whole city? Did you had to burn the whole city?!”

“People were out so why not?”

“They’re homeless now”

“Let’s burn something else”

“Focus. Gleeful”

“We need his attention so we can have fu- Let’s kill someone too maybe w- It will work better if-”

“Burning of the temple would be enough!”

Bill was all of sudden in my face “No. No. No. The bigger the better- we could- Let’s have fun we can-“ then he broke down in desperate giggles. Are you okay?

“You are the one who told me to stop you after this. We need to go to our next checkpoint”

Bill pouted but let me clutch his hand and drag his floating body behind me. Is that what he meant when he said that he has the right tools? Destruction? That isn’t even a little part of his powers. Bill creates stuff, the most astounding pieces of magic I ever seen were made by Bill. He was maybe a sucker for senseless destruction, but he was so much more. And even senseless destruction was impressive when done by him.

But what is more important he was acting weird, but it will be fine. He warned me that this will probably happen when he uses a lot of his powers. And that… he NEVER did mention that that he will be better again. That dickhead didn’t count with that. He counted that he will probably loose his mind and will still listen to me anyway, which he did for now. He practically sacrificed his sanity just, so he can do this. Fuck, Bill. What the fuck?! I can’t even scream at you right now! If I knew that you are so close to a breaking point I would never let you to do this. Red Shadow isn’t child’s game, you don’t fuck with that.

I stopped and pulled Bill closer. My hands rested his temples and our foreheads touched. I can do some damage control so I closed my eyes and focused. Anyone in the right mind wouldn’t let ANYONE to get into their head but Bill just floated before me, his eyes closed and whole body relaxed.

After fifteen minutes I pulled away and pushed the black locks from his face to see his pupils “How do you feel?”

His golden eyes fluttered open, and he was starring at me. Did I fuck up? Did I completely break my best friend? Mind healing takes a lot of skills and even if I was pretty skilful it doesn’t mean I didn’t do something wrong. One bad pronunciation and I co-

“What did you do to me?”

“Fuck. Please be okay. Please be okay. Tell me that I didn’t do any permanent damage. Do you know… know anything? Do you still know everything? I know that I shouldn’t try it on you before proper experiments on-“

Bill looked into the ground “I didn’t felt this good in years. It’s like I can finally breath. There are no more voices screaming and I can hear my thoughts. I know what is real, how could I ever b-“ I pulled him into a tight hug.

“You’re okay. You’re okay. I didn’t hurt you”

His hands pushed me away, so he can watch my face “What did you do to me?”

“Just some magic I was working on for some time. You’re not the only one who can make new magic“ I carefully grinned at his blank face “It comes from my regeneration magic. It allows me to manually restore some parts of your brain into the state they would be without the influence of magic on your system”

“Any kind of healing always went over my head”

“It isn’t reparation it’s regeneration. Big difference. I don’t know why people still persist on calling it healing magic it’s definetl-“

“Thank you”

“I know it’s not much, but I promise that I will work on it. I promise that I will help you”

Bill was just staring at me with shocked expression and strangely quiet “Not…much?”

“I will get better. I need to do more research and if I got some data from you it would be the best. There is this centrum in Deep North and they have amazing imaging technology. If I could see where the damage is I could design magic just for you, it would be more effective than g-“

“PINE TREE”

“I’m sorry”

“Why the fuck are you sorry?! I feel fine for the first time in fifty years. I feel better than I ever EXPECTED to feel. There was NO HOPE for me Pine tree. Nothing, just go slowly insane. And then you just do this shit and tell me that you can help. AND what is worst, you apologize! Never dare to apologize to me again!”

“I’m sor-“ Bill pulled me into hug and hummed some strange melody that I didn’t know. I guess I didn’t fuck up after all.

“How did you know?”

“I didn’t know you will be the one afflicted. You maybe showed some signs as a child but that doesn’t mean anything. Stars told me that I should work on it, they never give reasons”

“Why would the stars cared about me?“

I looked into the starless sky “They always said that you’re special. They like you” Bill hid his face into the fabric of my shirt “Just promise that you keep doing it. No matter what I say, just try till I’m me again”

***

Bill grinned at me, the sword that came out of nowhere sheltered on his hips “We destroyed the main part of his army, time to move on”

“Will this be enough? I heard some rumours about this guy, the necroma-“

“Probably only rumours, nothing real. Necromancers are as rare as you, _star-child_. We should move now. Big part of his powers will be investigating the incidents. They will be looking for organizations of resistance, not two people with assassination in mind”

“Are you sure you want to do it?”

“We need to. I don’t like his poisonous influence to spread farther than this”

“Maybe we could kill more of his strong men? It would be better if we were sure that no one will stop us”

Bill thoughtfully sucked on his fang “You’re right Pine tree, but the more of his guards we kill the more suspicious he will become. This is the line. We do more damage than this and he pulls his strongest warriors to his base”

I rubbed my temples. I don’t like this at all, but the stars were silent, so I should trust Bill.

***

 Mabel was standing before me and reached her arms for a hug “Mabes?” she just smiled at me. I could only stare at her as she stepped closer.

“Fuck. Fuck. Pine tree! You were right, there is necromancer. Gleeful is one”

I looked back at Bill but he seemed frozen in place, Ford was sitting on the ground while the glowing deep red strands started to wrap around Bill. Ford was still sitting and creating more of the strands, his eyes were shining by the same red and when I looked back at Mabel her eyes were red too. Fucking necromancer. I need to dispose of Gideon, but the magic that was being created around Bill had signature all over the place, it was probably created by all his dead servants. I don’t have chance to kill them all, so I need to destroy what created them. Gleeful. But there were too many people. They surrounded me and soon overpowered.

I looked back at Bill. We are so fucked if he doesn’t have plan. But what I saw shocked me more than anything else I ever saw. That was the first time I saw Bill really scared. His hands were shaking, and his shoulders were slouched. It screamed defeat and all I wanted was to hug him and make it better. We come this far only for us to fail in the end. And he is scared. My maniacal friend that feared almost nothing, not even death, was scared.

Gleeful just smiled “Cipher, how do you like that magic? I know that I kept Ford in my ranks for a reason. He was highly useful when it come to you. I expected the Red Shadow to take care of you but this? I didn’t expect it. Lucky for me Ford here was scared of what someone with power and morality like you can do so he created this. It took him most of his life, but it seems to be working pretty well”

I tried to get free and looked at Gideon “I will surrender. I won’t fight anymore. All I ask is that you let Bill go”

Gideon just lazily smiled “No”

Bill looked up, his eyes red “I want to die. Please kill me. Don’t seal me into dreamscape, don’t do it. Please don’t” That’s why he is scared. His never-ending prison and trapped in his own mind. No distraction. Just himself and nightmares and his power that drives him insane. It means everlasting suffering like a monster under the Red shadow that he inevitably becomes. The magic he was trapped in, was his worst nightmare come to reality.

Gleeful smiled “What about this? I will kill both of you, but Cipher needs to suffer so he will watch me as I kill his friend. That is the limit of my mercy”

That I can do, I would do anything to keep Bill from that fate “I take it”

I looked at Bill and my eyes flooded with tears. I’m ready to this for him and I’m definitely not walking out without him. Gleeful will never let him go, Bill destroyed too much of his force for that. Bill tried to smile at me “Don’t cry Pine tree. We will probably see each other again” he grinned “Long live the reincarnation”

I grinned too “Can I kiss you in the next one?”

Bill sneered, now happier “Knock yourself out, don’t give a shit. Just don’t take this fucking long because you suck. This is literally too late because we are about to die, so y’know try sooner next time, at least few hours”

I grinned apologetically “I’m soryyy. I try harder next time, promise at leas-“

“Hey. Fuck you Gleeful I wanted to hear the rest and you killed him. Y-“


	6. Part THREE ch. 6

It all began when our parents decided we could use some fresh air. Well mainly me after I spend a year in and asylum because I talked to the stars. They shipped us north to Gravity Falls, long time ago city of historic importance now just a sleepy town. We were supposed to stay at our great- uncle’s place in the woods.

My sister tended to look on the bright side of things. But I was having a hard time getting used to our new surroundings. And then there was our new great-uncle Stan. Our uncle had transformed his house into a tourist trap he called the Mystery shack. The real mystery was why anyone came.

And guess who had to work there?

It looked like it was gonna be the same boring routine all summer until one fateful day…

When I was hammering the signs, I found the strange book. There was a symbol of Cerberus and number three on the cover.

_It’s hard to believe it’s been so long. The city changed and so the strange and wondrous secrets…_

“What is all this?” I muttered myself and continued to turn pages of the old book.

_My magic works and my worst nightmare came to reality. There is no turning back and the dark time is coming, and it will fall. I must hide this book before HE finds it. Remember, there is nothing you can trust. You can’t trust him because there is only insanity and destruction and he leaves only death world behind him. There is nothing…_

“Nothing you can trust…” I repeated the last words of the author-

“HELLO!” Mabel screamed and jumped from behind the log.

“AAAH!”

“Watcha readin’? Some nerd thing?”

“Uh—uh—It’s nothing”

She mocked “Uh—uh—It’s nothing” and then laughed “What? Are you actually not gonna show me?”

I looked at the goat trying to eat my new book “Uh. Let’s go somewhere private”

Mabel was sitting on the chair and watching me curiously.

“It’s amazing! Gruncle said that I was being paranoid, but according to this book, this town has secret dark side and history”

“Whoa! Shut up! It just looks like gibberish to me”

“And after a certain point, the pages just stop, like the guy who was writing it just mysteriously disappeared”

***

“Gnomes? I was way off” I found the page “ _Gnomes. Little men of the forest. Weakness: can only walk so fly away; kill them with fire; build a giant chess board with them; who cares?_ Who the hell is this guy?!”

“Oh, come on!”

This guy was as helpful as stone when trying to swim but I still chuckled and headed angrily to towards the gnomes as I swing the book “HEY! HEY! Let go of my sister!”

***

I sat to the journal and grinned: _and for the rest of us, use leaf blowers._

I found the blank pages and continued writing:

_This journal told me there was nothing in Gravity Falls I could trust but when you battle a hundred gnomes’ side-by-side with someone, you realize that they’ve probably always got your back._

_Our uncle told us there was nothing strange about this town but who knows what other secrets are waiting to be unlocked?_

***

The blond child chuckled slightly as he lighted the last candle “You think that combination’s safe in your mind, Stanford? We’ll see what my new minion has to say about that”

He started incantations standing at the edge of the magical circle “ _Triangulum. Entangulum. Veneforis dominus ventim. Veneforis venetisarium!_ ” He laughed wickedly before his eyes lighted up in blue flames and he started to move. Expanding the circle into something more complicated. During the work he still chanted in different language.

The world went grey with the strike of storm and everything stopped.

Blue fire went up in the sky and as soon as the eye appeared the two people hiding in the bushes could hear the evil laughter.

Blond froze under the gaze of the triangle as it changed.

The black and white triangle looked around “Oh! Oh! It is good to be back!” He floated down to the blond child “Name’s Bill Cipher and I take it you are some kind of living ventriloquist dummy?”. He laughed on his own joke and spread his arm “I’m just kidding, I know who you are, Gleeful”

The blond child was scared “H—What—What are you? H—How do you know my name?”

The triangle just floated before him “Oh, I know a lot of things” then the images started to appear on his body and his voice got distorted “LOTS OF THINGS”

Then he laughed and was back to normal “Hey, look what I can do” He lift his hand and the teeth of the nearest dear flew right out of his mouth “Deer teeth, for you, kid!”

Gleeful gasped and throwed the teeth away “You’re insane!”

But the triangle just laughed “Sure, I’m! What’s your point?” In one gesture the teeth were back where they belonged.

Blond was getting really angry “Listen to me demon! I have a job for you! I need you to enter the mind of Stanford Pines and steal the code to his safe!”

Cipher laughed “Wait” he turned from the kid and thought “Stan Pines…. You know what, kid, you’ve convicted me. I’m sold. I’ll help you with this, and in return, you can help me with something I’ve been working on. We’ll work out the detail later”

“Deal”

“Deal”

Soos and Mabel only stared at the blue flame that consumed their joined hands.

“Well, time to invade Stan’s mind. This should be fun. Remember reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold! BYYE”

The world went up in colours again.

Black shadow descended on the sleeping men and his eyes went briefly up in blue flames.

Dipper continued reading “It’s possible to follow a dream demon into another’s person mind and prevent his chaos. Magical creature must simply recite this incantation under the circle”

Dipper sighed and crossed his arms “This is just great. I spend whole day cleaning sinks and fighting bats for Stan, and now I have to save him from some insane brain parasite?”

“But if we don’t do anything, Gideon might steal the shack or worse”

“Dipper sighed with defeated look “Fine. We’re about the travel into the most horrifying place any of us ever saw. Stan’s mind”

“You think I can take these Burrito bites into Stan’s brain? Thumbs down, thumb up? You know what? I’m just gonna bring them”

The world was grey and full of mist when the tree of them appeared before the nightmarish version of Mystery Shack.

“Remember guys we have to look out for the triangle guy”

Behind their back high tone mocked “Yeah, look out for the triangle guy!”

Mabel jumped on the triangle, but he just floated to the right and touched her by his cane. The black hole ate the little girl and she appeared next to her twin.

“Ah, Stan’s family we meet at last. Question mark, Shooting star, _Star-child._ Great to meet you all” his finger shot the red beam and left the bleeding hole in the middle of Dipper’s chest “You’re still my favourite, _Star-child_ , at least for now”

Dipper screamed till he realizes that the pain didn’t came with the wound. He looked at Cipher still hyperventilating “H-how do you know?”

“I know everything! I even know what you think right now!”

“That’s impossible-” before Mabel had time to say more two boys already appeared from the bright light.

“You’re out of you league kids. Turn around now, before you see something you might regret. Later suckers!” With the last words he crashed through the wall.

***

The male part of the Pine twins was starring defiantly at the golden triangle “Why are you doing this! You hate Gideon, you cringe, and your eyes go red every time I mention his name!”

“Sorry _Star-child_ but old disputes won’t stop me now. I need a favour from living creature and he happens to be exactly that”

“I-I- I will do it”

“What. I’m having a problem to hear you _star-child!”_

“I said that I will do it! Just don’t make me to kill anyone”

The triangle chuckled darkly “That’s not how I make deals”

“Please!”

“You’re lucky _star-child_ , what I need from you doesn’t require murder if you can come up with different way to accomplish it”

“S-so it’s a deal?”

The demon floated towards the child and reached his hand consumed in pale blue fire towards him “Deal”

Dipper took it and sighed “Deal”

***

I stumbled over the root and almost felt down, only tree saved him from that. Just a little more. Cipher said that it should be right behind the edge of Gravity Falls and I just passed the sign of the town. True to Cipher’s words I soon came by few men sitting around a small flame. There was huge cage next to them and I could only stare at the black monster. No. It wasn’t monster. It was almost as big as a well grown pony, but it was a cat. Not lion or panther, just house cat. Regular house cat. Well not regular with that size but aside that… What does Cipher wants with that cat?

I carefully watched the men and waited till most of them were asleep. Then I throwed the stone as far as I could and run towards the cage. One easy spell broke the lock and the cat slowly stepped from the cage. It licked me which left me wet from head to toe and I smiled “You’re free. Go” and the cat disappeared behind the trees and I followed soon after.

I dreaded the moment I have to stand before Cipher again, I didn’t have any idea what he will do, after all I broke the deal. I should have brought the cat to him, but I just let it go free.

The sight in dreamscape shocked me. The cat was curled around the Ciphers triangular form and he scratched it behind the ear while the cat purred loudly. “Good job _Star child._ There is a charm in simplicity. That would mean that you’re charming?”

“You can talk with cats!” Talking to animal is easy but the animals don’t talk back often. Cat’s are the worst. Nobody ever heard about anyone able to do that. And yet Cipher was sitting there with that strange cat and it told him about what happened.

“Just Wicca, she broke the rule years back” he affectionally scratched the cat and then looked at me “Now LEAVE”

Without giving me any time, I was pushed from his dreamscape and was left blinking on the empty spot before me. How can a cat go and leave dreamscape as she pleases? Never mind. I headed back to shack but then I heard my stars _Go left here_

_Now down this hill_

_Turn left here_

_Stop_

_You need to hurry, his magic is still around you so touch that tree_

I did as they told me and it revealed small room full of papers and strange jars. Magical creatures and magic I never saw before. What a strange place. So much to see.

_You need to hurry; the magic is disappearing. Grab the book on the shelf and leave._

I did as my stars told me and left in a hurry, just in time before the tree snapped back to place with unbelievable force. Probably good that I wasn’t there for it.

***

Mabel run into the room and jumped into her bed with huge smile “Gabe was enchanted by that play. We have date tomorrow” I looked from the window at the leaving blond.

“He is making out with his puppets”

“Nooo”

“I don’t think that you want next date”

“Thanks. Dodged a bullet on that one”

I came back to pictures I get from the strange room, book was empty, but the pictures were more important nonetheless. When I was starring at the picture of the young men for a while but then Mabel jumped on the bed behind me and pulled the photographs from my hands.

“Ohhh. Look at him. He is precious. That hair. That eyes”

“Give it back. He is mine!”

“Who is that?”

“He is the author” I went over the picture before I found the one that was taken somewhere in South because the stranger had helmet, sword and was shitless. He was next to blond men, leaning on long sword and giving lopsided grin. “Look at the tattoo, it’s the same as on cover of the journals”

Mabel fanned herself “Hello~ there stranger”

“No. These are mine”

“You don’t even like boys!”

“I like this one!” I could feel the blood in my face and tried my hardest not to look on my sister.

“That’s fine. I don’t like _like_ girls but I like _like_ Pacifica”

***

Stars were shining at me and for the first time in my life I wanted to refuse them. They never lied to me. And even if I do it nobody but me can use it and that means that nobody will use it. Ever. It will be fine. I will have to lie about it to gruncle Ford, but we can make it. There is no chance in hell that I will ever break Cipher out.

When I was done with the magic circle I looked at the people around me. One half against the other. Mabel symbolizing kindness and her worst half Pacifica. Stan and Ford. Wendy and Robbie. Soos and Gideon. That left me standing against empty space, Bill Cipher’s space. The chaos and destruction he represents, my worse half. That fact almost made me cry.

We managed to trap him, and everybody felt asleep the moment Cipher stepped into the circle. Red ribbons unwrapped from their wrists and started to restrain Cipher. He was swearing in different languages and his form shifted several times, but the strands kept twisting around him till he was laying on the floor. But then his form shifted again and revealed short young man. He had the darkest black hair, like they sucked every light from the room, like they were made from blackhole. Golden eyes shined more than any jewellery I even seen but they were red and I could only stare at the tears as they flowed down his cheeks. “Please don’t do it, Pine tree. I can’t take it anymore, not another second in there. Please, I just got out, just a few more minutes”

“I’m sorry. There is nothing I can do”

He was still looking devastated as he changed back to his triangle form. It was probably another trick of his anyway but still, the stars started to make sense. They are always right.

The magic stopped, and I could only stare at the stone statue of Cipher, his hand reaching towards me, probably ready to make a deal.

But it looked more like he was reaching for my help. He called me Pine tree. Who’s that? And what is more important, he looked exactly like the person in my old photographs. He was the author, Bill Cipher. That weird person who I admired and adored. The person that saved my life more times than I can count. The pretty boy I had crush on. The same person that warned me about Bill Cipher and told me to consult the stars about a way to kill him. But stars only tell me how to put him away and even made me to put in that trap backdoor. Who are you? What do you want? What happened to you?

Something touched my shoulder and I looked back at Mabel. She had worried look and spoke in hushed voice “Did he did something to you? Are you alright?”

“What?”

“You’re crying”

I touched my cheeks and in shock stared at my wet fingers. Why am I crying? I wasn’t hurt so I just shook my head.

Ford’s loud voice sounded like it was coming from different universe “Let’s burry him and be finally done with him”

***

Tomorrow is my eighteen birthday and I couldn’t wait. If I’m one of the lucky ones I will wake up with knowledge of my past life. And if I’m REALLY lucky then even more lives if I managed remember in the last one. I shouldn’t get my hopes up. After all remembering is still rare but not even close to how rare are my powers. I’m the _star-child_ and there wasn’t one for three thousand years. But doesn’t that mean that I already used all my luck in odds? Or maybe that I’m just very lucky person. I hope that I met someone important from my past life, that is the surest way how to remember. On the other hand, most of the resurrected memories are connected to the trauma and then meeting people who were important in that. Would that mean that I will remember thanks to the trauma? But it was still worth it. Every piece of pain is worth the knowledge. Can’t wait. I hope I was any good at magic. And I hope that it will manage to repair my weird aging, it sucks to be eighteen years old in the body of twelve years old kid.

I woke up screaming and Mabel was next to my bed in a second “Dipper are you okay? Why- why do you look so much older?”

I only stared at my sister.

“Dipper, why are you crying? What happened? Did you saw your past life?”

I touched my cheek and looked at my wet hand. Did I saw my past life? I break down laughing and crying.

“Dipper, what’s wrong?!”

“I need to go”

“What?” But my determination was already with me and I know what I had to do. I busted into the bedroom of my parents and borrowed some of the dad’s clothes. There is nothing of mine that will fit me. I ignored the screaming of my family and run down the stairs and headed into the kitchen for keys. My family catches up with me as I was flustered looking for shoes that fit. Finally, I gave up and just decide to go without shoes. My mom was standing in the door.

“Honey. Are you okay? What happened?”

“Hi mom. And I’m not fine, my friend is in trouble”

“He can wait few more days. Why don’t you sit down with us and tell us ab-“

“Sorry mom but I need to go now. I’m already pretty late. Maybe… maybe even too late”

“Go to bed honey. I will drive you tomorrow, we can get you some clothes, visit the doctor and-“

“No. I’m coming now” I looked around the kitchen for a fastest way out. My head still hurts, and my magic was expanding in my chest before it reduced back to almost nothing. Remembering is always hard on the body, maybe I should see doctor later. But I was kind of doctor, or at least researcher into medical science and the process seems to be stable. I was rational, I just needed to help Bill because I was already three thousand years too late.

“Dipper! Give me the keys and go to bed! Or I will ground you for a month!”

I started to laugh uncontrollably and couldn’t stop. My family was just watching me horrified “I’m hundred and thirty. I don’t need your permission. Now if you excuse me my best friend was tortured for thousands years by this piece of shit I’m going to murder as soon as he is well again or sooner if he isn’t”

I walked still barefoot between my stunned parents. It must be hard to lose their child to adulthood in just a few hours. Maybe I should talk to them later.

Mabel was running towards the car before I could leave “Bro! Who are you talking about?”

“Bill and Gleeful”

“Don’t tell me that Gideon is your friend now”

“No. Bill is my best friend and Gideon is dead men” I all but growled the last words and drove away as she was staring at me in shock. But one thing I could still hear as she shouted “Dipper! You can’t hurt him unless he remembers too. Don’t forget that or you will end up in jail” I grinned. Doesn’t matter if they don’t catch me.

In a day my magic stabilized, and I tried few of my spells, they worked perfectly. Quick search on the internet in the in the coffee shop revealed me that there was almost no progress in the research into Red Shadow. Most of the people now believed that they were defective from the beginning and since my papers there was almost nothing new. NOTHING. They have all this time, and no one did anything! They just call people like Bill insane and medicate them. Nothing else. They supress their power and lock them away. At least back in days we believe the cause was really magic. I glared at the computer like it was its fault and finished my coffee. I hoped in something different. A lot different. I hoped to find someone who will wave his hand and makes it all go away. I hoped for a cure.

I spend few months in asylum like a child, mainly because I talked to stars but then my parents showed up and proved them that my powers are the reason. That I’m not crazy just _star-child._ Bill called me like that even before it was used in general public. He called me that before anyone else knew what it means. And he kept calling me that since the first time I saw him in this life. But I still need to be careful. When they were ready to send me there it means that they would do it to Bill without any doubt. I need to help him, and I need to keep it quiet. Maybe I shouldn’t tell Mabel the names but it’s too late for that.

I’m too irrational when I’m angry.

It took me almost two days to drive into the Gravity Falls. It was familiar and now I understood why Bill stayed there. The city that once was the centre of the magical progress, Heiss, was now Gravity Falls. Bill went back home and watched it disappear under the teeth of time.

It was already night when I stopped before the Mystery Shack, the rain was pouring which was just a bad luck because I still didn’t get myself a pair of shoes. I jumped from the car and headed into the tool shed. It took me a while to find shovel, but I finally had it and smiled. Somebody pulled it from my grasp.

I looked back with murderous gaze. Ford was standing in the entrance, his face worried and still holding my shovel ”Dipper. What are you doing here? Mabel called that y-“

I growled at him “Ford. You- YOU don’t talk to me right now! It’s partially your fault! Why did you make it?! He was my best friend! Why were you so scared of him?!”

“I don’t know what you are talking about”

I sighed and rubbed my temples “Of course you don’t. Give me that fucking shovel because I’m going to dig out my friend”

“Dipper. Are you okay? Because you are acting seriously crazy right now”

“I’m not crazy. I’m mostly rational and really angry because somebody hurt my friend”

“I can help”

“No you can’t. Nobody can. All you can do right now is to give me the shovel and leave me alone. After tonight I will help him or completely lose him. Either way I will talk to all of you later. You can wait. All of you can wait but he can’t” I waited for a while Ford traced his eyes over me.

“You are older”

“I’m hundred and thirty, of course I look older”

Ford finally sighed and handed me the shovel.

I nodded and closely looked at him “Can I ask you something?”

“Go ahead”

“Was it Cipher that told my parents that I’m _star-child_?” Ford went pale. That’s all I need. There is almost no reason for Bill to tell him something like that. Bill was the reason why my parents managed to get me out of the asylum. He still _knows_ me. I looked at Ford one more time. He was pale and confused. Is it possible that Mabel didn’t told anyone for who I went? I love you Mabes. I told you that I’m going for the most dangerous person you ever met, and you still keep it for yourself. Thank you.

In no time I was back in the car and driving as far into the forest as I could but soon I had to jump out and continue on feet. The place looked different. The memories of current Dipper disappeared little under the sheer amount of my past life. They were still there, just not as much. I’m not a teenage boy that can do magic and talk to the stars. I’m old magical creature that is still in love with his best friend.

I stopped over the grave and started digging. At least the ground was soft, and I was progressing rather quickly even through it was mess.

Finally, I could see the statue of the weird form of my friend. I was leaning on the shovel and panting heavily. When I tried to push my hair away I only managed to get dirt on my face, so I let the rain fall down on it. I couldn’t see any star, but I still heard them. _Do it._ I looked down at the triangle. He made my summer a hell. He saved me from life in asylum. My Bill would do only one of the two. I sighed. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for him. I will gladly start another Weirdmagedon if there is a chance. I looked into the star and thanked for making me create the back door out of the spell.

 _“I, magi Dipper Pines, promise that I will do anything for you. I promise that I will die for you and I promise that I will live for you. I promise that I will never leave you and that I will do anything to help you”_ I took the hand of the statue. Surge of magic shot out of my hand and the stone started to crack. And Bill was alright under the stone.

He looked surprised, or as much as triangle can look surprised “ _Star-child_ ”

“Bill”

He started to laugh “You are even stupider tha-“

I hid my bleeding hands into my pockets “Thanks for telling my parents that I’m _star-child”_

“Oooh so you know. That is the reason why you broke me out? How did you do that _star-child?_ ” He seemed more curious than angry. I never saw this Bill like that and I smiled at him “I just listened to advice of my stars. They told me to create a way I and only I can open to break you out and they told me how”

“How long has it been? By your looks a way too long”

“You were conscious?”

He looked at me suspiciously “What is it to you?”

“I just know someone who would rather die than live conscious for ever. He doesn’t like his mind that much”

“Your friend is stupid”

“Yeah and weird. And the best person I ever met. It wasn’t that long just so you know. All the humans are still alive”

He was still starring at me. He probably wants to know why I freed him but doesn’t want to reveal that he wants to know. I smirked and looked from the ground, my hands still in my pockets “Hey Bill, can you start calling me Pine tree again?”

He froze, and his pupil narrow to barely one small point but then his eyes went red. Fuck “I DON’T know what you’re talking about, _STAR-CHILD!”_

“You wouldn’t be so angry if I was wrong”

“THAT’S NOT ME. I don’t have any idea who do you think I’m bu-“

“Bill”

“WHAT!”

“Shut up”

He was starring at in absolute shock. No one ever talked to him like this. Well I did but he had soft spot for me. I grinned and reached my hand forward. The moment my hand made a contact the illusion spell disappeared, and I stared into the golden eyes of my friend. His projections and illusions were always supreme but that he maintained it even under the spell was unbelievable. He was brilliant. His hair was still shaved on one side, but something was really weird. His skin turned black on his face, like the black leaked from his hair and stained his skin. Some of the streams reached his cheeks and he looked like he was crying black tears. Even the sclera in his eyes turned black.

And Bill looked scared and there was crazed light in that golden eyes that still shined more than any jewellery I ever saw.

My voice was soft as I moved closer “Hi”

He tried to jerk himself from my grip “LET GO OF ME _STAR-CHILD!”_

“I don’t think so” I pulled him closer to a hug even through he was still trying to get away “I’m sorry I took so long. I’m sorry I got here the easy way and I’m sorry you had to wait”

“LET ME THE FUCK GO, PINE TREE. I MADE YOU A DEAL WIT-“ I pulled him closer and muffled his screaming by my shirt.

“Just let me make it alright”

The red eyes were starring at me, this time with desperate light that reflected his desperate attempts to get away “Let go of me. I’m not him. There is nothing anybody can do, there is nothing YOU can do”

“Let me help” I slapped his hands away and moved my hands on his temples, the wet strands of his darkest hair sticking to my skin. And he still stared up at me with his eyes full of desperation and hopelessness. I can make it better. I rested my forehead on his and closed my eyes. I have to make it better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was planning to write the whole summer but It kind of... nvermind, it all happaned in similiar fashion (Gideon can read Bill's jurnals and Ford was working on it too)... None of them have any idea that they are Cipher's creation. The end of Weirmagedon happened little different but it was probably prety consistent with the original story aside from that.  
> Still sorry for my horrible writing.


	7. Part THREE ch.7

The sun was already rising over the horizon when I pulled Bill out of the hole. His eyes were open, but he didn’t say a word to me. Black was gone from his skin and eyes, but the raven just stared before him and let me do anything I wanted. He was mellow and wasn’t floating and I wanted to cry. I get him into the car anyway and headed back to the shack.

There was another car parked there. Clearly Mabel told my parents where I’m heading, and they borrowed Meriy’s car. Bill was still silent as I pulled him out of the car and just let me to drag him into the shack. Fuck. Before I had time to open the door my mother was already standing her but when her yes felt on the person next to me her angry eyes went soft.

“Hi mom. Can we come in?” She just stepped aside and I dragged Bill towards the couch. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked ready to go to sleep so I shake with him.

“Don’t sleep just yet. Most people are still asleep and you could lose parts of yourself in there. Just stay with me for a while, okay?”

I didn’t get any reply, but he didn’t fully close his eyes either so it’s good. With two of my fingers I lifted up his chin and pulled the strands of his black hair away from his eyes. They were golden and empty, but pupils reacted on the light and he obeyed when I told him that he shouldn’t sleep. I don’t have any idea if he will be alright. It wouldn’t be exactly better if he ended up like this. I really need a better look at his brain. Ford was here. “FORD!” he jumped startled “Do you still have the imaging technology?”

“It’s in my study”

“Great” I pulled Bill from the couch and dragged him with me upstairs “I’m going to use it real quick”

“Okay” The whole family decided to follow me and the room was packed. I switched the machine on and sat Bill into the chair. In few more minutes he was connected and the screen showed me image.

When I was sure that I managed to map out the damage I put my hand on his temples and everyone in the room screamed.

“DIPPER. You can’t just change someone’s brain. He obviously isn’t himself right no-“

“I’ve done it before. It’s fine”

“There are LAWS about that. That is crime judged even harsher than murder!”

“I would never hurt him and since everyone else is doing shit to help him then I have to do it. It worked before!”

“You done it before?”

“About six times but it never went this far” I pulled at the screen, so others can see it “Can you see this? This kind of damage should damage his abilities to create memories and I never saw damage in those areas here and here. By his symptoms before, it probably wasn’t there. I need to repair rest of these regions and I need to watch him if there is anything else. I know that this is dangerous and if it wasn’t him I wouldn’t even attempted to try it. But for him I’m going to try my best for as long as I need. I promised him that I will try till he is himself again”

I started to restructuralize the matter again this time with my family just starring and in half an hour I pulled away. I was dead on my feet but still looked at Bill.

“Hey, how do you feel?”

His voice was weak but still, he spoke “I don’t know”

“Do you remember who you are?”

“Maybe” he closed his eyes and gripped his head. His movements were clumsy and slow and I probably gave him bad headache; his system needs time to settle and normalize before I can tackle remaining problems. This is fine for now.

“What about me? Do you remember who I’m?”

He grinned tiredly “How could I ever forget you Pine tree” and I pulled him for a hug. “You’re such sappy idiot Cipher” I definitely didn’t cry at that moment. It was probably still the rain from my wet hair. Or it wasn’t, who cares.

“Cipher?! Dipper who is this!” I looked at Ford, Bill was still slouched on my chest and I had my hands around him. I didn’t let my face to show anything “Oh this? This is my best friend Bill Cipher”

They were just staring. I hate when people stare at him even if it’s my own family, so I hid him from their eyes and looked at the clock. Barely seven a.m.

“Come on Bill, you can sleep later. I make you a coffee”

Bill was starring at me with his tired eyes and I really wished that I could let him sleep. But there is a chance that his personality could split, and he could lose a part of it in somebody’s dream. Better if I gave few hours to his system and let him sleep when most people in vicinity are awake.

With little effort I pulled him on his feet and dragged to the door. My family still stood there and stared and I gave them what I hopped was challenging stare. Bill blinked at them few times “I… I think… I remember them. She was your sister… that weird horse… and my mum liked that one because she shared her wine with her” he once again gripped his head “Fuck it hurts”

“Don’t overdo it. I’m still not sure how stable you are”

He looked at them one more time and then weakly elbowed me “I’m short. How the fuck am I short? How do I don’t know that?!”

“I still think that your height is perfect, you have the whole list why THIS height”

“I’m short and you never told me, and Wicca was on it too!”

I cooed at his traumatized face “Don’t be sad. You will be floating to my height in no time”

“I fucking hate you Pine tree”

“Love you too Bill, love you too”

My family started to suspiciously loom around the kitchen in twenty minutes. Which only means that they plan something and probably nothing good. Bill was starring into his cup, probably still little disoriented while Mabel went to make herself a cup of tea, trying too hard to look cheerful.

Bill started choking and coughed few times. Then he spitted out a black fish with tree red eyes. “Gross” and he just came back to his coffee like nothing happened while the fish was desperately flapping on the table.

I smacked him lightly “What the fuck is that?!”

The hurt look went over his face “It’s a Reigo curse, obviously”

“You coughed out a fish because somebody used very lethal and very illegal curse on you?! What is obvious about that!”

“You already know that my magic is destructive”

“That was the most destructive curse there is and your magic it just turned into weird fish?!”

“I know better ones”

I pulled at my hair “Know better… somebody tried to kill you… you choked up fish… what the fuck became of my life?!”

Mabel was just staring at us as we argued. Shocked and surprised.

Bill was looking rather calm and undisturbed, so I screamed “FORD. What the fuck?”

I heard fast steps and rest of my family run to the kitchen

“Dipper I’m sorry but you are under his control-“

“Honey, I’m so sorry but I promise that it’s for y-“

“Bill choked up fish. It was gross so don’t do it again” I need to be more careful in the future. Never let my family have Bill’s hair. I dragged his hair through my fingers, which I definitely didn’t enjoyed at all, and watched for any hair. Two. “Can you stop losing hair? I don’t want Ford to have them, so he can’t use them in some curse”

“Sure. And then I stop breathing. No problem”

“Don’t be an ass Cipher”

“He doesn’t know any curse based on biological belongings that could seriously hurt me”

I ruffled his hair “As long as you’re sure”

My parents with Ford left, probably to come up with new plan while Mabel still stared at us. “Sit down Mabes” She joined us, sitting as far from Bill as possible. Great.

“Mabes this is Bill”

“I know him”

“No you don’t because this is the Bill I know”

“Hello Shooting star, long time no see. I though that you died with Twig”

“She did. Reincarnation”

“How long has it been?”

“I died in 1738 and it’s 2003”

He looked at me with stoic face “In that case I miss a lot of my memories”

“Sorry but the damage was too big. You probably didn’t make a lot of new ones, no memories, just knowledge. There is a very good chance that you will never got memories after the progression since you never made them, your brain was just picking up facts an-”

“How far was I Pine tree?” Still that stoic face. He knows. Fuck.

“It doesn’t really matter, what is-“

“What the fuck did I done?!”

“I’m not going to tell, you will be-“

Mabel was staring at him “You tried to start apocalypse and called it Weirdmagedon”

Bill was just sitting there starring into his mug with neutral face.

Then he turned to me with hateful eyes “WHY DID YOU DO IT!”

“I couldn’t leave you”

“She said that I tried. I Failed. I was gone. I was no longer danger to anyone. I was as good as dead!”

“Of course I wouldn’t let-“

“PINE TREE!”

“I’M SORRY!”

“Not good enough. Why would you do that?! Why me?!”

“Bill calm down, listen to me-“

He growled and bared his sharp teeth “I can’t even see your face right now” Before I had time to do anything he bit into his forearm and started creating a circle. When I tried to stop him he growled at me again and then disappeared into a thin air. Fuck. That couldn’t go any better.

Ford walked back into the room, this time with gun pointing at our table “What happened?” He looked over the magic that transported Bill away “What is this? I never saw magic like that”

“Sure you did. You used it yourself few times”

“I would remember-“

“Bill made that magic and therefore doesn’t need advanced and complicated circles. They are for public use”

“Cipher made teleportation magic…”

“He made most of the magic we are using now. Golden age of magic discovery? Never heard that?”

“Of course I did. Most of it happened here, in former Gravity Falls by-“

“By the guild called _Tower_ and by this person that had four First chairs. The person who held the First chair in Shaira and Damess simultaneously for forty years straight. The person who studied under Lemli- don’t really remember his real name. The person who ended dark age in Pinte by killing three people, which I saw by the way, it was cool. The person that went with me as we destroyed half of the Gleeful’s army which in the end led to his defeat and liberation of South. When I cut it short. All of it, his work so. Bill. Amazing. You. Asshole for trying to kill him”

“But he is-“

“Evil?” I sneered “Barely. Ever heard of the Red Shadow?”

“We need to call authorities! He is dangerous!!”

I sneered again “Not really”

“He is insane!”

“Because of the damage his magic does to his brain. I can repair it. Everybody using regeneration magic should be able to do it”

“Regeneration magic? YOU can do regeneration magic?”

“Sure, I developed it”

“I though that it was just a rumour. That the articles were written by some crazy maniac in the South. Nobody could understand them. Some people swore it was real but…”

“What?” I could only stare at Ford. Nobody understood my magic. I understood Bill’s magic when no one else can. Bill spend decades making his magic comprehensible to others. My magic was just as his. Right now, I’m the only person who can use it. “I’m so stupid. How could I miss it? I need Bill to tell me how he does it. There isn’t easier way to say it. There just isn’t. There has to be some translator or mayb-”

Mabel hugged me condescendingly “Your evil friend is gone”

“Not really. I know where he went and I’m not taking any of you there”

“We will use force to stop you when we will need to”

I was ready to fight but Mabel put her foot down “Stop it, all of you. What if I come with him?”

“Call for help when anything happens”

“C’mon Mabes” When I tried to grab the keys from the shelf she just pushed me away “I don’t know what is the last time you slept, so I’m driving”

It was mostly silent when not counting the times I told my twin directions. Finally she stopped the car and we got out. Before I had time to head into the forest she pulled at my hand to stop me. “What is Bill to you?”

“He is the one person that always trusted me and in me. He taught me magic when we were still kids. He helped with my impossible quest. He always did everything for me and I had all to do was ask, most of the time not even that. He is my best friend”

“I will try…”

“What?”

“I try to look at him like a new person. Like he isn’t an evil triangle”

“Thanks. C’mon and be nice”

“Nice?”

I grinned “You see”

The hole I dug tonight had golden sheet that casted light golden shadow on everything. I sat next to it and pushed at its surface.

“Bill, come out and talk to me”

There was only silence, so I pulled my secret weapon “I brought you gummy bears”

The gold sheet disappeared, and Bill stand up and reached to me. His fingers barely touched the edge “I will take them, and you can leave”

“Will you be moping in your grave when I leave?”

“I’m not moping because I’m not a child”

“I will give them to you, when you tell me what are you planning”

Bill’s fingers disappeared again, and I cursed at the golden sheet of magic “You can’t stay in there forever”

“Not planning to, Pine tree”

“You’re asshole Cipher!” Absolute silence “Fuck”

I turned to Mabel “I need more candy, we need to get him out so he will talk to me”

“Candy?”

I flashed her mischievous grin “They’re his greatest weakness. It would be nice to know during Weirdmagedon, wouldn’t it?”

“Candy? Really?”

“You can also try to kill me, that would work too”

“Kill you?”

“I know him. That would definitely work even if you are my twin sister, but I think that you would rather try the candy?”

“Definitely the candy”

“I can still hear y’ two”

“Shut it Cipher. You are moping in your grave, so you aren’t a part of this conversation”

***

The second try went even better. I managed to persuade Bill to get rid of the sheet and he was starring at me with his golden eyes and clutching bag of gummy bears as a prize.

Mabel was standing out of his sight but I’m sure he knew about her anyway.

I sighed “What I have to do to make you come out?”

“I should be here! And you still don’t have shoes. What the fuck happened to your shoes! And that’s all I CAN think about. What is wrong with you?!”

“I don’t own any in my size”

“How can you be so stupid!”

“I don’t know. Stop moping in your grave and let’s buy some”

“I’m not coming out”

“Bill for fuck sake” but the sheet was already up. “Cipher you gave me Jeremy and said what is yours is mine. If you don’t come out, then let me into that hole because it’s mine too”

“Nice argument but no. My grave my rules”

 “Cipher, you’re thousands years old, come out this instance!”

“Buy yourself shoes before the next try!”

“Fuck you Cipher”

I stomped away but when I look back at Mabel she was sitting next to the hole and shouted “You have to take shower before coming to mall. And buy me gummy bears too”

She wants to stay? I’m pretty sure that anything bad won’t happen. “Just don’t be too rude to him, he doesn’t let other people do that”

“Don’t worry, I will be nice to Shooting star” Bill screamed from his grave.

Mabel grinned at me “And Shooting star will be nice to your friend that is moping in his grave because of something she said”

“You just told me the true, not like somebody else! Can you still hear me Pine tree? I’m talking abo-” The doors to the car closed and I let my head fall on the back of the seat. This is really bad. I don’t know what is Bill doing, but he definitely doing something. He wouldn’t do senseless symbolism. He plans something, and I really hope that it isn’t anything bad for him.

***

I was standing on the edge of his grave and stared down, it was a week now and I was getting seriously anxious. Even more than before.

“Bill, I’m getting really worried. Can you please come out?”

The golden sheet disappeared, and his fingers appeared over the edge. In one smooth move I pulled him out. He had black shadows under his eyes and had mud all over him. When I looked into the hole it had magical circles all over it, layered over each other so much that I didn’t have even the slightest chance to decipher it.

“You were down there because the ground was soaked with your powers”

“Can we go now? I’m cold” I throwed my hoodie over him and gave him challenging stare.

“So we won’t be talking about this?”

“No”

I pulled him closer and looked into his golden eyes “How do you feel?”

“Fine”

“You are lying”

“As fine as I ever be”

I grabbed his hand and dragged him behind me into the car.

My parents were still there and were watching as I dragged Bill upstairs to shove him into shower. In no time he was out in the clothes I gave him. Some ragged jeans, dark shirt and oversized black hoodie. He still looked rather sad as I dragged him down into the kitchen to my whole family.

“So we need some rules. This is Bill Cipher, he is my FRIEND. That means that no one, NO ONE, I’m looking at you Ford, will try to curse him again”

“He is evil and insane”

“Still no one. I’m in charge of him and I will take care of it when he does anything bad”

“He is-“

“I know who Bill is better than all of you put together. Bill?”

He was just floating around the kitchen making himself a tea. “Bill!”

“What?! They’re right. The curses won’t work so it’s waste of time but-“

“Bill!”

“What? Do you want a cup too? Where is the sugar?”

“Second drawer”

“Thanks. Oooh look at it. Cubes. I love sugar cubes. Did you know that Jakob Christof Rad got that idea from his wife? It’s brilliant. I love him” In one smooth motion he throwed a cube into his mouth and crunched at it.

“That’s who you love? I break you from eternal mind prison and you love the person who made sugar cubes? You are ungrateful ass Cipher”

“I’m still mad at you so you don’t deserve my love” and he just calmly floated upstairs with his cup of tea.

“Cipher come back here! This is important”

“Not really”

I looked around the confused faces of my family “He’s a little weird but please be nice to him. And don’t call him Bill, or any other nickname, it’s disrespectful, just Cipher is f-“

“Are you seriously telling us to be polite t-”

“It’s not impolite- it’s offensive- Bill is still much stronger than all of us put together- it bothers even me if you call him that and I barely know the proper protocol an-”

***

Stan was already repairing TV for two hours while Mabel was cheering him up. They were in the next room and the whole time I was running tests on Bill. I needed to determine rest of the glitches in his brain but Bill was getting seriously annoyed with me trying to determine his mental abilities. Without a word he left me and floated towards the kitchen no make himself a tea.

When he wasn’t back in ten minutes I went to search for him. His tea was forgotten next to him while he was slouched over the TV and manipulating the circles for transmission.

“Are you gonna finish any time soon? I’m seriously worried that you don’t remember which planet this is. You forgot three basic colours for fuck sake!”

He bared his teeth at me and growled “I just have blanks somewhere. No big deal. Stop being my doctor and let’s do something fun. You will drive me insane faster than my magic”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose “Fine. Can we finish this one test, and then do something?”

“Yes. Finally” then he throwed the remote on the pair on the couch “It should work now”

“For how long you were pretending to repair it, just so you can avoid me?”

“Most of the time. Honestly, were you expecting something different?”

Before I had time for my sarcastic reply Mabel budged in “Do we have cable five?”

I groaned because Bill looked seriously confused “Did you wanted just some of them? That will be harder, but I can do that too”

I shake by head behind Bill and mouthed “Don’t say a word and just enjoy it”

Bill continued “It will change to anything you want to watch, just press any button, well not on and off or volume, that would be just confusing…”

“Anything I want?

“Sure, that’s how TV works? It is all modification of my communication spell. I never thought that it will be used for fun. And even humans can use it. It always makes me happy that my magic takes a life on its own.”

Bill was still grinning like an idiot about the fact that his magic changed over time and floated from the room. It was on me to pick up his tea and follow him, so I can finish my test.

Mabel was staring ate the TV “Anything I want…”

Stan was staring at where Bill disappeared “I’m still not paying anything. I could make millions from him…”

*Mabel*

Dipper was sleeping, and I walked on Cipher in the living room writing something into his notepad. So far Cipher seemed… weird… not evil triangle…not a great person… but… just regular person, well not regular, creepy is better word.

“Hey… Do you want to go with me into shopping mall? You can’t live from Dipper’s closet forever”

He looked at me with his shining golden eyes suspiciously “Are you sure about that Shooting star?”

Was I sure?

“Yeah, C’mon”

He was silent as I drove, and I finally found something I can ask “Did we know each other back then?”

“Not much. When we first met we didn’t spoke the same language. And the second time I was interruption to something very important to you. I think that you didn’t liked me that much”

“You said that I died with someone-“

“Twig. I taught him magic and he was really good. You were around hundred that time an-“

“Hundred?!”

“Sorry it was my fault. The first time we met I saw this cool drawing of a weird horse and created him. I connected it to your core thinking that it will die with you, but you lived with it. I wasn’t expecting that it will be reflecting your opinion about magic of that creature that strongly, to be honest I didn’t expected anything. I just made that magical horse with horn because it looked interesting”

“You made UNICORNS?!”

“Yeah”

“Why did you make them such dicks?”

Bill busted out laughing “I didn’t, you did. It reflected your opinion on them. When you were child it was fine but you probably grow bitter. Everyone does, but you gave it very good try. You grow old and called bullshit. It just happens”

“I made them assholes”

“Feels pretty shitty doesn’t it?”

“What?”

“Do something bad without knowing that”

I cringed on that. Time to change the conversation “When we were kids, you didn’t call my brother Pine tree” The demon cringed at the words and looked from the window. Probably shouldn’t call my brother that, Cipher seems to resent it. It’s damn hard to find something to talk about with him.

“I know I did but I don’t remember it. That whole time isn’t in here” he lightly taped at the side of his head “just dust and mist. I knew that he isn’t the person I knew. I knew that they will try to suffocate his powers. _Star-child._ He is one after all”

“You don’t remember anything?”

“I know stuff. It’s complicated. I can’t find any memory but still” he gripped his head “I know I was horrible. Can you just leave it? My head hurts”

I sighed and parked the car. He was weird. And seemed little sad.

“Bill, do you want something to eat?” he gave me hard stare and his eyes flashed red. Reminder to myself: never call him Bill again.

“C’mon Cipher, we’re wasting light”

He grinned “Sure, Shooting star, the food is on me”

Melody was standing before the counter of the small shop and Cipher gave her bright and honest smile, those kind of smiles he had so far only for my brother “~Hello~. Finger smoothie, no thumbs please. And twenty of those cookies that taste like summer in Antarctica”

“Sure, sweetie. What can I get you Mabel?”

“Just pancakes will be fine”

“Right up”

Cipher was still humming cheerfully as he slurped the deep red smoothie and singsong “~I missed you fingers~”

“Are those… who’s fingers are that?”

“Human”

“What!”

“Oh. Every dead person is used into restaurants. They are not on the menu, you have to ask for them, but magical creatures are still 23.7 % of population and large part of them feeds on humans. It’s either a secret or people don’t talk about it. I forgot which one was it”

I stared into my plate “I’m no longer hungry”

“If that makes you feel any better, you will probably be burned since you have magical creature in close family”

“What?”

“You are soaked in Pine tree’s magic and would taste weird to us” he bared his sharp teeth on me and smirked “well not to me since I think that Pine tree’s magic is pretty tasty but y’ know”

“I’m going to throw up”

“Great. Can I have your pancakes?”

“Was all of it lie just so you can have my food?”

“Why lie if I can get the same result with true? But if you want them I can get my own…”

My stomach turned. No need for them go to waste “Just take them and never talk to me about eating humans”

“You are so weird about eating humans. I know it seems like cannibalism to you, but we demons don’t have such concept, we aren’t even the same species as humans. Plus” he slurped from his straw again “humans are delicious”

“That’s just wrong”

“You had a pig. And you ate beacon all the time because it was delicious. When your body becomes just a sack of flesh it’s fair to eat the meat. The pig was your friend and then meat. No big deal”

“But we are talking about humans!”

“Who cares… we are all the same. If they sold magical creatures I would ate them too. Even though some of their magic makes the meat taste weird so humans are probably best” and he again slurped at the red smoothie. I saw his point and he wasn’t hurting anybody but still gross and horrible.

Then Bill continued “You are so spoiled by Pine tree. He always refused to eat people. He is what humans would call vegetarian? Something like that. But he definitely can do and it doesn’t feel like cannibalism to him. He’s missing on sooo much. Maybe when all his humans die I can persuade him give it a try” Cipher sighed and looked from the window at the passing people. That is something I didn’t need to know. I was well aware that my brother will live a lot longer than me but this…

He wasn’t exactly a nice person but at least this Bill meant no harm. Or maybe it’s just his plan. Either way he still super weird and little bit disturbing. A lot of disturbing.

***

Bill was floating above my bed, scratching something into his notebook. His black strand were kept from falling into his eyes by a clip. My sweatshirt was falling around him and I really wanted to hug him. I also wanted to kiss him, but it was way too early for that. I’m still not sure how stable he is and was acting… strange. Not like he wasn’t himself but like he is hiding something. Little part of me was paranoid and freaking out but bigger part of me was just worried.

I sighed and moved from my table on the bed. In one smooth motion I pulled him to my chest and wrapped my hands around him. Bill immediately turned the page he was working at to hid it from me. He is hiding something from me and he is super obvious about it. He knows that I know and he wants me to know. If he wanted to hide something from me it wouldn’t take too much effort because I can be little blind when it comes to him. But still that fact he wants me to know made me smile and I rested my chin on his hair.

 “Can you tell me how to make magic accessible to others?”

Bill grinned victoriously “I was waiting for a long time till you ask me. Did you finally gave up?”

“I didn’t know that others can’t understand it”

Bill busted down laughing and continued till I was red in the face and he had to wipe his tears.

“All these years I just thought that you are too proud to ask for my help…and…”he started laughing again and I joined him. His tone was affectionate as he looked back at me “You can be so stupid sometimes”

“Sais the person that couldn’t remember if it’s good or bad to destroy this reality”

“Yeah, yeah, both of us are stupid. Do you want to know or not?”

“Please”

“Okay” he drew a stick figure onto his sketchbook “this is your general magic user”

“Why is there empty circle in his head?”

“We will get to it”

“Are you just going to tell me that most people are stupid?”

“We are GETTING to it”

“Can we get to it faster?”

“No if you want to understand it”

He dabbed into the paper few times and I smiled as I combed through his smooth hair “Fine. Go ahead”

He draws line under him and a figure that mirrored the first one. He poked into that space with his pen “These are the worlds we are working with. Your spiritual world and my dreamscape. We exist in both of these worlds, not just one, that’s why the things we do sometimes split into two. You are used for seeing only pieces of something in this world and your brain automatically fills the missing parts. I can do the same, without a thought, it’s just natural like breathing. OTHER people are STUPID and can’t do that. So when you wan…”

*Mabel*

Dipper leaned from the kitchen “Hey Mabes, when you already going out can you grab Bill and me lunch?”

And I could already hear Cipher “Lunch? Go to Melody she’s the best”

“Fine but you better pay me back later”

The drive was mostly boring as well as picking up few things in supermarket. School already started week ago, and I was still here in Gravity Falls. Parents had to get back home for work and made me promise to stay till I’m sure that whatever Dipper is doing won’t hurt him. To be honest I didn’t saw any sign that Cipher had in mind to hurt my brother, but he showed me that summer that he can be cunning and manipulative. That I shouldn’t trust pleasant cover and talk, he did nothing of such, but he probably knew that it wouldn’t work on me anymore. Now my head hurts.

I stopped before the counter and looked at Melody. I don’t have any idea what demons eat.

“Hello. I’m getting a lunch for my friend, friend that eats… h-humans, wha- wh”

“You were here with Bill before. It was nice to see him again like that”

“You know him?”

“Of course I know him. I remember all of my past lives”

“Do you know something healthy I can bring him?”

“No problems. Do you have time?”

“Twenty minutes”

“That has to do it”

She walked back and left me stand there. Great. Everybody is weird now.

In fifteen minutes she was back holding three boxes. “It should be all. If either of them needs anything else just call”

“Why are you so nice?”

“Because Bill is well again. We were friends before” she waved her hand “well everything. It was sad to see him like that”

“You like him?”

Melody gently smiled “Everybody liked him. He was… he was the brilliant weirdo that lead the progress in our community. Spirit of every party when he was on drugs. And pretty admirable when he tried to stay off them and went around and did stuff for other people. How could I not like him?”

I could only take the boxes and leave. This is getting really weird.

The moment I stepped in Cipher was before me reaching his hands towards the boxes “Pleeease”

He was humming softly as he started to open them in the kitchen “This is great. I need to send Melody something. Anything. Maybe a nightmare would b-“

But my brother just refused like there was nothing wrong with Cipher “No. People don’t appreciate nightmares. We went over it just yesterday”

“Then money. People like money, right?”

“Yeah. That will work…. Wait a second… What do you plan to send her?”

“I have these shiny carbon stones, and I have a lot of them. She can have… I don’t know… bucket of them. That seems like appropriate amount~”

“Sure. Send her bucket full of diamonds. I had to buy you shirt last week, but she gets diamonds for making you lunch”

“She gave me a lot of free food over the years and you can have one too”

“No I’m good. I already own like half of that already”

“When I agreed to live with you I didn’t say yes to a marriage”

“~What’s your is mine~. You can’t take it back and it means that I have claim on of all the candy I promised and gave you”

Ciphers tone was suddenly warm, and voice hushed “You won’t take any because you’re the best”

“Yes, you can have them all. That’s not the point”

“The point is that you can give them to me. Thank you, really grateful, love you, let’s eat”


	8. Part THREE ch.8

Bill seemed sad- not like before. He smiled, he reacted, he moved but still. I sat on the couch next to him and started going through his hair- pulling at the black strands while he rested his head on my chest. I kind of love that he never questions any affection from me- just taking whatever I’m willing to give. But-

“Did you know how I got my powers? Stars love watching people. And I was born under the meddling two. They have blast watching me and wanted the first seats. They wanted to actor that interacts with the publicum”

“My mum was super powerful, and it boosted my powers too. I could walk dreams before I was born, and I may have gotten lost one day and build dreamscape because I couldn’t find my way back. I was in comma first three years of my life. That’s how I got my powers”

I ruffled his hair “Lost child”

“And bored stars”

“Cheers to us”

Bill burst down laughing and my family only watched as I pulled him closer and hummed melody that I heard him humming few times. Raven just closed his eyes and curled around me.

“I had huge crush on you when I was kid. Well not the triangle you, I hated and feared him, but I found some photographs of the author, and… you know… you’re damn cute”

“Sure, call person that caused apocalypse and can kill you with a flinch of a finger cute”

“Sorry. You’re adorable”

“Don’t push it Pine tree. I’m already letting you get away with too much”

“You love it”

*Ford*

Something cold and wet touched my face. Startled I sat up and in hurry lighted up the lamp.

Cipher was floating next to my bed, slurping smoothie and grinning. “Hello Sixer, need your help”

“Not in a millio-“

“I want you to kill me”

That isn’t what I was expecting “What?!”

“I can’t kill myself, my magic won’t allow it. I managed to find new lethal curses but can’t do it. So I made one you can use. Let me finish my last fingers and let’s kill me” he sounded cheerful and I didn’t believe a word he said.

“No”

“But I work on it for so long. Almost a month. Let’s do it, you know you want to~” that I could believe.

“I want Dipper to go over the magic before”

“No. You can’t tell him. He will be depressed and try to convince me and I can’t tell him no for some fucked up reason. I knew that I should choose somebody else, but you hate me. You’re perfect”

I’m not in a mood on Cipher’s mind games so I screamed “Dipper YOUR DEMON is in MY room”

Cipher’s eyes flashed red as he hissed, and he stuffed some papers behind my nightstand “My magic isn’t worth to keep me alive. You’re making a huge mistake. Keep the magic and do it”

Before I had time to do anything else the older and more confident version of my grandnephew walked in. He was starring at Cipher for a while but then he pulled him for a hug and this version of Cipher sneaked his arms around his neck and leaned closer, humming some melody I never heard.

Dipper whispered to him so silently that I almost couldn’t hear “Is it part of your plan?”

“I said that we won’t talk about it”

“I will find out sooner or later”

I could feel Cipher’s eyes on me, burning holes with threat “You won’t, don’t worry”

***

Ford knew what is happening and it was driving me insane, well not insane but pretty worried and desperate. That was the reason why I sat Stan and Bill in the kitchen with words: _Bill can do some interesting magic, try to exploit it._ If Bill’s stares could kill I would be dead already, but I wanted to do this. The magic on Ford’s door was pretty ancient and I was in there in no time. I can’t find what Bill plans from Bill but I can find out from Ford. Bill was maybe obvious about keeping something from me but still very good at keeping it actually from me. Ford will be the exact opposite. I won’t know till it hits me and when I try to find out then sooner. Smirk went over my face as I started searching and I started hum Bill’s strange melody that was stuck in my head for weeks.

I run down the stairs furious and throwed the papers on that fucking dream demon.

Stan looked up annoyed “What the fuck Dipper?! We were just getting to something good”

Ford that during my absence joined them just nodded his head “If Cipher can do that it can be a huge breakthro-“

“ _Cipher_ ” I hissed his name and continued “won’t be doing anything because he will be dead”

That asshole that calls himself my best friend gave me hurt look like it was my fault “I told you to leave it alone”

“You were trying to kill yourself. Back when you were pretending to mope in your grave, you used the ground that was soaked with your magic to boost your powers. And then- then you gave up and pretended like nothing is wrong while you made this fucking thing”

“I’m pretty sure it will work, it should be fool-proof”

“Of course it will work. That curse can kill anything and anybody. You did incredible job you piece of demon garbage!”

Bill bared his teeth “Don’t bring my species into it”

“I can do whatever I want!”

“Just think about it rationally”

“Rationally?!”

“I was always insane. But I thought that I had it under control, I had my drugs and then I had you. But I’m gone or will be gone again. It doesn’t matter how much is my magic valuable, I’m dangerous. I’m not even close to being in control, I was lying to myself for a long time but not anymore. There isn’t anything I can do to control it, it doesn’t matter who I’m it just happens. On my best days I’m crazy on most days’ borderline with insane and you all saw the bad days. I’m sure it will be best if I die. And it’s something I should have done a long time ago… So you guys should just kill me. I would rather kept Pine tree in dark about it but… y’ know… life’s shit and unfair la-di-da”

Ford cleaned his glasses and looked at Bill “You were serious”

“I’m not joking about killing myself, some people could interpret it as calling for help and it was complicated enough with Pine tree around”

“You were serious”

“Dipper, one of your humans is broken”

“No, he isn’t. My DEMON is broken”

“Neh. I’m fine”

“Cipher for the fuck-“

Mabel pulled at his sleeve “But that’s your life. Why would you…”

“It’s logical. I’m sorry that Pine tree will be sad, but he will dead in few hundred years, so it doesn’t really matter on large scale of things. In next life he won’t remember anything so…”

I pulled him closer by his shirt “Do we meet again?”

“No sorry. Possibility of reincarnation isn’t part of the spell. I was already lost in the dreamscape as a child, there isn’t anything that can change that fact. My powers would be the same in my next life. My insanity won’t go away, so I have to. It makes sense right?”

“No”

“I knew I should bring my board and visual aids. Give me a second and I can get them”

I sat on the floor against his chair and Bill immediately started petting my hair “Don’t be sad Pine tree. I didn’t mean to make you sad. It will be fine”

I reached for the paper I throwed at Bill before and burned them, giving him challenging stare. The gesture lost its strength by Bill still petting my hair and his condescending tone “Y’ know that I can make them again in two minutes, right?”

“I fucking hate you Cipher”

“Love you too Pine tree. But now you know so let’s do it. How much any of you want to be involved? We can throw a party or do it right now in the basement, your choice really” He sounded cheerful and jovial and I wanted cry.

Ford looked pale “You want us to kill you”

“Yeah. Sorry to bother but my magic isn’t a big fan of suicide and this will work. Plus, you guys tried once before and did good job imprisoning me, if you had this curse back them then you would do nice work killing me. I have faith in you” He was still awfully cheerful, gave them thumbs up and I wanted to cry even more.

“You were insane and started apocalypse back then”

Bill just cringed and leaned closer to them “Yes. And I’m still as dangerous as then. So you need to do it again, this time with my magic” he was talking slowly and gesticulating. Bill still thinks that they don’t get it, so I broke down laughing and crying. Bill was there in a second, affectionately petting my hair “I already told you not to be sad”

“Pine tree?”

“Pine tree?”

“You were never this mad before, I get it. Just let’s make it quick and move on with things. Mabel needs to come back to school, another bus with tourist will be here in twenty minutes and Ford has videoconference with Mayor. You already have a grave so that will save us time and you can be back here before lunch”

Mabel was still staring at him “I’m sorry, you are little bit of an asshole, pretty creepy asshole, but I don’t want you dead”

Stan was blinking for a while before chipping in “I will make so much money from you, I can’t exploit you in afterlife”

Ford sighed and looked at me “I guess that he can stay when you look after him”

I grinned victoriously at Bill “ _We voted, and you are staying alive”_

_“They are humans and I’m still pretty sure that they didn’t understood me”_

_“They understand and did very nice thing for you. They just forgive you for causing apocalypse”_

_“Bu-“_

_“And my vote doesn’t count? I’m your best friend and my opinion doesn’t matter?”_

Bill bit on his lip till it bled _“It will be best for you too. I will always need you an-“_

_“I will be always here for you”_

_“But- but- I’m da-“_  I pulled him for a kiss.

When I pulled away he was starring at me with his golden eyes wide and blush over his adorable face “ _You get to decide if I did better than last time”_

“ _But-“_ I pushed him against the wall and leaned into his hot body. If he is dying I’m really too late. Bill made a soft noise as I deepened our kiss and his legs crossed behind me so he can pull me closer.

When I was out of oxygen I pulled away. Bill was looking up with his golden eyes, his freckled cheeks had red hue and I ginned down on him “Please”

Bill only stared back at me “You can be so blind when it comes to me”

“No. I’m pretty sure that I know who you are, and you are not good person. I’m not stupid”

“Keep throwing the compliments at me. It really works for me” then he started to chuckle “but I see your point. When you hit body-count over eight thousands it becomes really hard to thin-“

“Did you get only thousand since the old days? That has to be rather disappointing with your standards”

“Little over. I miss the parties back then. When Nate woke me in three in the morning that Hoip’s army is behind the gates and his feet hurt and doesn’t want to go wake up more people. Good times. Lots of fun” He sighed and rested his head on my chest and I gave him light kiss on the top of the hair.

“Just give me a chance to make it work. Please. You hate saying no to me”

“We keep the grave open”

“Yes, you can keep your moping hole”

“One of the humans will have the magic”

“Mabel”

“Don’t really care who”

“Anything else?”

He lifted his head and grinned mischievously “Ohh I know. Let’s give everybody nightmare”

“Nope. We TALKED about this, nightmares- not a good thing!”

“But they are so much better than regular dreams. And the work and imagination you have to put into the is su-“

“I can live with ONE nightmare a WEEK”

Bill was starring up at me with wide eyes and went really red before looking somewhere behind my shoulder “I didn’t think… that you would say yes. Thank you, you’re amazing, love you, kiss me again”

***

“What y’ doing Pine tree?” Bill rested his chin on my shoulder and wrapped his hands around me.

“I’m getting new documents, getting my diploma from school and starting medical college which, I hope to graduate next month and get accredited in psychiatry”

“That’s a lot. Y’ can’t do it all from here”

“I’m pretty sure tha-“

“Just go. It’s fine. I will be fine and when not then I can’t leave Gravity Falls anyway. Just come back to kill me when you’re done, that’s all I’m saying”

“That spell. We should definitely do something about it”

“Leave it. I made it and it’s staying”

“You made it? But the crazy version of you couldn’t get out…”

“I made it and then ripped it from my memories”

“Oh my sweet potato men. You- YOU are the one who made the damage to your brain. The damage that was affecting the memories, I thought that it was weird but now it makes sense! You fucking pain it the ass! You could have destroyed who you are! You were lucky that you aren’t brain dead! You never practiced any kind of mind manipulation and then you just try to remove specific memory! I can’t beli-“ I was shouting at him but he just pulled me closer and gently kissed me. That shut me up quite efficiently.

“I quite like it when you’re angry but not at me”

I sighed and rubbed my temples “Are you sure it will be okay if I go away for a while?”

“Yeah, probably. Just come back. And remember I’m your responsibility now”

Responsibility? Oh. He trust me with his life when he doesn’t trust himself. Bill is here with me because he trust my judgment. He is here only because I want him to be here. I dragged my fingers through his smooth hair and pulled him for deep kiss “Thanks. I keep it in mind”

The day I was leaving Bill looked rather anxious and I pulled him into a hug one last time. “You have my number. Call me. Often. And keep the phone on your person at all times. I managed to get some tablets that should suppress your power. Ford has them. When anything goes wrong, you call me, ask him for them and wait for me to get here-“

“Yes mother we went over this yesterday. I remember the rules”

I turned to the car and pulled something out “That’s for you”

“Gift? What’s wrong? Are you leaving or coming back? Gifts are when people are back? Why are you so confusing!”

“I can give you a gift any time I want. Deal with it and be happy!”

“When you say it like that then I don’t have any other choice” He looked anything but happy.

“Fine if you don-“

“I never said that. Give me”

I smirked and handed him the instrument “That’s a guitar. You will find a lot of instruction on my computer, just search on the internet, so learn how to play”

“Are y’ giving me something to do so I don’t lose my mind? So sweet” His sarcasm was tainted by his slight blush and I smirked.

“You will be fine, just keep yourself occupied and don’t do anything stupid. No drugs. No deals. No murders”

“The murders were last so it means that I will get least shit from you when I do that?”

“No. All are forbidden the same way. Be good”

“I try”

“I know you will and I promise I will be back soon”

“I know”

I gently kissed him and hugged one last time for the third time already “Be good and I will miss you”

“Just fucking go, I’m sick of your face!” he pushed me towards the car and turned his back to me as he floated back to the shack, clutching his new guitar.

*Ford*

Somebody knocked at my door and when I opened there was Cipher, holding all the notebooks I was missing.

“What do you want?”

“I brought you these. There is magic in them. New one. But I need a favour from you in exchange”

“What?”

“Burn the journals”

“What! That’s my life’s work!”

“I know. That’s why I have these notebooks. I made it really clear with explanations and all. You can ask me when there will be something confusing… It’s better than the journals I wrote when I was half-insane”

“But why would you want them destroyed?”

“When I was in dreamscape I created the magic around Gravity Falls to keep me contained in possibility that I ever get out. Then I ripped the memory from my mind. The insane me don’t have focus and precision to cancel magic like that. But I know myself. I hate traps and prisons more than anything else. I believe that I unconsciously left some instructions in the Journals. That is probably the reason why I tried to get them back. So I need them destroyed”

When I was silent Cipher continued “Y’ know, you may call me master of the mind but I’m really not. I suck at it, don’t tell that to anyone. My touch is too heavy. I can make nightmare powerful enough that it will drive men insane in two hours. But that kind of mind manipulation… Dipper is from two of us the master of the mind. Right now he is the only person capable of something like that.

This isn’t a trick or anything. I just need to be sure. I love Pine tree but sometimes… sometimes he thinks too highly of me. That’s why I need to make sure that if it gets out of control I will be contained in here”

“Okay I will do it. I will burn them”

Cipher nodded and let the notebooks fall into my arms “Thanks” I will burn them if the magic in these is better.

I sighed “Come with me”

I lead him into my library and Cipher froze in the doorway. Then he run, RUN, I only saw him only fly but this time he run, and he felt down on his knees before one of the shelves.

He pulled one book and opened it. Cipher was just starring at it and did nothing. When I moved closer and looked over his shoulder, I could see what was so damn important;

_To my old friend. To the person I taught and the person who taught me. Since I can’t tell you no more stories face to face I hope that you will get a chance to read it. I hope YOU will have chance to read it and don’t let the garbage stop you._

  * _Lemli_



There was small drawing of a Cerberus and nothing else.

Cipher’s eyes were red and the tears flowed down his cheeks. Cipher was crying. I thought that I saw everything but this…

“You knew him”

He wiped the tears and run his fingers over the old pages “He was my teacher. When he left he used to come back from time to time and tell me a stories about—“ he started crying again “and now this book is soaked with his magic and he wants to tell me more of his stories even through he is long dead”

“You can have it”

Cipher clutched the book closer to him and looked at me suspiciously “Really?”

“Yes, it was meant for you after all…”

“Thank you” he looked so surprised. I maybe starting to understand why Dipper likes him.

“Let’s just never to talk about it again”

“Okay. D—Do y’ know—where is somebody that can make sensory reparation work? I need glasses”

“I can do it”

Cipher was starring at me still suspiciously as I touched his forehead and created his glasses. He carefully took them from my hand and nodded “Thank you… I really owe you… and not just for this. Y’ know where I’m when you need anything” He walked out of the room clutching the book and for the first time turning his back to me. I definitely wasn’t expecting this when Dipper told me that Lemli was his teacher and I realize that I own this book.

***

I was coming back and couldn’t wait. The trip was too long and the few days seemed like years.

Finally, I pulled before the shack and get from the car. Bill was sitting on the porch with the headphones and playing something quite expertly on his new guitar. One of his eyes opened and he grinned at me.

“Welcome back. I told you that I will be fine”

I run towards him and pulled him for a deep kiss before sighing against his lips “Hi”

“Yes, hi. How was the trip?”

“Great. Got my papers and personalized program at college. I also started at getting you papers. It probably will be hard. You are three thousand years old and if government knew about you they would closed you somewhere, but we can do something with fake story”

“Oooh. The government. Y’ won’t like what’s coming”

“What DID YOU DONE!”

“Not much. I wanted to bribe them, and I think that the helicopter is coming because of that”

“What” I could only stare as it landed and then I turned to Bill with desperation “I just came back! I didn’t slept in two days!”

Twenty men run from the helicopter and surrounded us, their guns pointed at me and Bill.

“Sorry. I send some of my magic to their headquarters with note that if they leave me alone I will be sending them new magic annually”

“That is actually good idea”

“Don’t sound so-“ One men screamed over Bill “HANDS IN THE AIR AND DON’T MOVE”

Bill’s eyes went red and surge of dark energy came out of him “WE are TALKING NOW! So FUCK OFF”

“In the name of the American government we ar-“

Bill still had red eyes as he started playing on the guitar. The guns flew high into the air. The solider continued screaming at us and the clothes of soldiers followed their weapons. On second look the guitar had some magical circles on it. Of course, he modified it so it can serve as instrument of mass destruction. Changeling his magic through tones. Absolutely brilliant and not the point right now.

But Bill was still angry. He strides towards the man that was shouting before. Fuck. He doesn’t walk just for something. Bill is seriously ready to murder him. Fuck. I grabbed his hand and Bill looked at me before taking a ragged breath.

Then he looked at the soldiers “First I took your guns and then your clothes. If you don’t step back right now I’m going to take your hats!”

Okay _that_ I wasn’t expecting “Hats? Really? That’s what you are going to take away last?”

“They are important, right? Why else there is so many kinds of them? Sooo many. I forgot like half of them and still can name twenty”

“They aren’t important at all. You should probably start with them, or at least take them with clothes”

“How am I supposed to know that! There is so many rules!” Bill was looking really anxious, there was ticks in his body and I changed my tone.

“It’s fine. Don’t freak out. You’re doing fine. They are backing away and look ready to listen” There was still tick in his neck and left hand, but he takes few deep breaths and looked at the sky. His eyes slowly getting back to gold.

“As you can see, this guy” he pointed his thumbs at himself “not exactly stable. Leave me with someone alone for too long and he will no longer be. This guy” he pointed at me “my sanity. Take him away-“ his voice was louder and distorted while the world flashed into nightmarish grey form his dreamscape took over the years “THE WORLD WILL END” Bill chuckled and somersaulted in the air like nothing just happened.

The almost naked soldiers with hats looked absolutely terrified.

I sighed “Okay. As you can see it will be best to leave Cipher here and unharmed. But we can make you a deal. Let’s say that once a month your headquarters gets envelope. Envelope that will contain a magic similar to the one you received before. How does that sound?

“We need to talk with boss about it”

“Go ahead. Bill can you give one of them back the communication device?”

But Bill was just laying on his back in the air and sulking “I don’t really want to”

“We are not having argument now. This is important!”

Bill just stared into the sky “…nothing’s really important…”

I sighed and rubbed my temples. I glanced at the naked soldiers “Just give me a minute. Make yourselves comfortable or…well… you know… enjoy the hats”

When I finally managed get Bill to give them back their clothes and they made short call we were told to wait because someone is coming. Great. Now I just have to wait. Everything to make my headache worse. I sighed and watched Bill ash he played few cords and started singing as he flew slowly between the soldiers and played.

_~Don’t ever laugh as a hearse goes by for you may be the next to die_

_They wrap you up in bloody sheets to drop you six feet underneath_

_They put you in a pinewood box and cover you up with dirt and rocks_

_It all goes well for about a week, and then your coffin begins to leak_

_And the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out_

_The worms play pinochle on your snout_

_They eat your eyes, they eat your nose_

_As you begin to decompose_

_A slimy beetle with demon’s eyes_

_Chews through your stomach and out your sides_

_Your stomach turns to rancid grease_

_And puss pours out like melted cheese_

_You spread it on a slice of bread_

_And that’s what you’ll eat when you’re dead_

_And the worms crawl out, the worms crawl in_

_The ones that crawl in are lean and thin_

_The ones that crawl out are fat and stout_

_Your eyes fall in and your hair falls out_

_Your brain turns into maggot pie_

_Your liver starts to liquify_

_And for the living, all is well_

_As you sink further into hell_

_And the flames rise up to drag you down_

_Into the fire where you will drown_

_Your skin melts off as you descend_

_And Satan tears you live from limb_

_Your suffering will never end_

_And the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out_

_They’ll eat your guts and then shit them out_

_And when your bones begin to rot_

_The worms remain, but you do not_

_So don’t ever laugh as a hearse goes by_

_For someday, you’ll be the one to die_

_And when Death brings his cold despair_

_Ask yourself, “Will anyone care?”~_

When he finally ended his musical show, he grinned at the even paler soldiers. Maybe I shouldn’t give him the guitar? But the song about decomposing body magically healed my headache and he was quite good at it and had surprisingly nice voice when trying. Bill then sat right next to me on the porch and started singing gently.

_~Ring around the rosy_

_A pocketful of posies_

_“Ashes, Ashes”_

_We all fall down~_

As he finished he grinned at my tired eyes and gently blow my way “~sleep~”

My head was resting on something very warm and someone’s fingers were playing with my hair. Oh, this is nice. So nice. Maybe I could even ignore the sound of the helicopter landing. Sigh escaped me, and I opened my eyes. I have few more moments in Bill’s comfortable lap before I need to do something. Fuck, I missed Bill so much.

Finally I stand up and Bill was still here with me. Bill was here with me. In smooth motion I griped his shirt and pulled him for a quick kiss.

“Not that I’m complaining but why?”

“Before, we never ended up in the same place at the same time. There was always something but now- now you are here with me”

His eyes were soft as he sneered “And you call me sappy idiot”

The two men jumped from the second helicopter and I was still starring at Bill. His new guitar on his back and lopsided grin aimed on the soldiers, probably still thinking about taking their clothes away. “Bill!” He sulked but floated closer to me and growled at the closest soldier who jumped away and Bill showed his sharp teeth even more. Great.

“So what is the problem here? You know the protocol when someone refuses to join our ranks”

The soldier that was before screaming at us saluted “He managed to disarm us in three seconds without moving, sir”

“Impossible. You” he pointed at my demon “You either come or will be restrain-“

Bill started laughing very loudly and the commander was getting more and more red in the face. Well fuck.

“Naremi, restrain him immediately” The soldier was looking at Bill his face pale and I had to smirk. They can’t make him do anything. Anything at all but I would rather if the government saw his worth. But Bill didn’t share my opinion and just handed me his guitar and walked towards the commander. Fuck. Before I had time to do anything the second person slipped before the commander. He held his hand in peaceful gesture and smiled at Bill, his blond eyes falling into his eyes “I’m sure we can come up with something that will work for both sides, without any violen-“

Bill jumped and throwed himself around the neck of the stranger “Lemli!”

“Ehm-- Okay--Hi by the way. Nice to meet you”

Bill was still on him “Great to meet you too. I’m Bill and I’m going to call you Lemli so deal with it”

He was completely unfazed by Bill tangling from him “Great. Now to the deal”

“I will work for you-but only YOU!”

“Do we know each other?”

“Used to know each other. Anyhow-“ He pulled him closer to me and made two of us bend so he can whisper “I’m going crazy under the Red shadow but Pine tree here- don’t call him that or I will torture you- can keep it under control. So I’m his responsibility and he is in charge of me. What that means that he chooses what I do-“

“No I’m not. You’re not my pet”

“I don’t mind that, even kind of like that. Now Silence!”

“You’re pretty rude and imperious if you are my pet”

“To be honest we both know that if I was animal I would be cat and I said SILENCE!- As I was saying Pine tree is in charge of my mental health and that means how much power I can use. Every job needs his consent and they should be sporadic-“

I just had to ask, “Wait a second, you can leave?”

“Well I can make a little door that allows you and only YOU to lead me out”

“Oh I want to take you to Disneyland. It will be so much fun”

Bill lightened up and nuzzled my neck “I _love_ that was the first thing that came to your mind”

Lemli cleared his throat “Ehm. So get it straight. You can’t and won’t leave without him and he acts as your doctor and you listen to him. Okay. I can work with that. I’m pretty sure we can list him into necessity tools. There is no specific rule that persons can’t be put there… You will probably have to be tested so we can officially certify you as Demon hunter, and of course your powers but-“ he snorted and waved his hand “-probably be fine since all these elite soldiers are scared of you after just few minutes… Okay wait here I will talk with the asshole in charge” he patted Bill’s shoulder and walked away.

Bill quizzically looked at his back “Do you think that I can still trust him?”

I slapped him lightly over the head “You already told him everything!”

“I know! I still like him but it’s fine we can always kill them all”

Soon Lemli was back “Okay he agreed for Cipher to work for me, but he wants be sure that you will be taking a job a week if you show up to be strong”

Bill was staring at me and I sighed, Bill would probably say yes to once a week “One job a month and Bill is very strong, he will see. And I-- damn--we-- want documents for Bill.  You can’t probably give him genuine documents but maybe write down reincarnation so it’s at least little bit true? But made him younger than me. He was always younger than me!”

“I have three thousand years on you kid”

“You remember almost nothing of it so it doesn’t count”

“It so does. I’m the ~older~”

“Sure. Since now I’m having all the swee-“

“Noo. I’m sorry, you can be older just don’t take my candy away”

“I thought that much so—oh” Lemli was already gone arguing with his boss done with my arguing with Bill. I quite like him too. Well when he isn’t touching Bill.

***

The screenings were already over, and I could already feel a cancer growing inside of me from the spell-radiation. Bill was grinning as we followed the women further into the facility. Something is definitely wrong. When we finally reached the first test he had slyness written all over his face. I need to address it before we start “Cipher! What the fuck did you done? I can see it in your face as clear as a day. Tell me!”

Bill shyly grinned “I brought gummy bears. Do you want one?”

The women was staring at him with wide eyes “You can’t bring gummy bears into highly sec-“

But Bill just grinned childishly “You can bring them anywhere. That’s why I love them”

“We searched and stripped you…the screening magic…” I snickered because Bill just blow her mind away.

“And?”

“How did you get them here!”

“I brought them! I already told you that” Bill growled at the women and stopped floating. Fuck. Diffuse right now.

“I WANT TO-“ I throwed my arm over her shoulders to stopped her from shouting at my demon who would eviscerate her “Look at him” His eyes were red and the blue flames started to flicker in his hands. There was black on his skin, like a liquid flowed from his hair down to his cheek. “Do you really want to keep asking him about harmless candy?” She shakes her head and I let out relieved sigh. In two strides I was with Bill and pulled him for a hug. Soft sound escaped him as he throwed his hand around me and licked right under my ear. The black disappearing from his skin in a second.

We entered one of the rooms and it revealed huge maze. The women looked into her tablet and continued “There is two thousand projections. Your assignment is to kill them all. You will get full score if you beat the current record which is fifty minutes. Tell me when you’re ready to start”

Bill looked at me and I chipped in “ONLY the projection. Go ahead”

“Fine. I’m ready” The women clicked something on her tablet and Bill looked into the entrance of the maze. He rested his hand on the wall and the black line shot from his palm and in unbelievable speed run on the wall. Then the tablet started beeping in rapid succession and the women was just staring at it. Then there was final beep and she was just staring at it “…seventeen seconds…”.

Bill looked at me and I grinned back at him before looking at the woman “What’s next?”

***

“We’re almost done. In here you have to restrain or kill the aggressor without a scratch on the victim. If you don’t have any question the-“

“I have question!” Bill looked at me “Which one is the target?”

“Little girls are usually good”

“Great. I got it” I looked at his grinning face and rubbed my temples “No you don’t. The good one is the victim, you supposed to kill the bad one. Which is the man, not the little girl. Kill the man! Wait. No. Just kill the projection, not the person casting the projection. Is that clear?”

“Fine. We can start” The women clicked at the tablet screen and the man immediately felt down. She stared at Bill “What happened?”

“He’s dead”

“But-- he just collapsed! What kind of dead was it?”

“The instant one. What else?”

She was just staring at him, her mind blown for the seventh time today and I grinned at my brilliant demon. When I finally mustered enough will to tear my eyes from him and looked at the women “And the last one?”

“Oh. Sure. Few years back one of our prisoners escaped and we managed to contain him in one wing of our facility. Theoretically your task is to kill him but all I ask is that you survive five minutes. Okay?”

Bill nodded and looked ready to enter but I gripped back of his shirt “We talked about this”

“Fine. Fine” In his palm there were two identical head-sets and I carefully secured one on his head. I maybe enjoyed playing with his smooth hair too much, but Bill was grinning happily. Before he had time to leave him I gave him a quick kiss and whispered into his ear “Ask if you will be confused, it’s okay. I’m here” on that his hands sneaked around me and nuzzled my neck and he handed me his bag of candy “Keep an eye on my bears and don’t let her have one”

Then he floated down on his legs and entered through the doors, to huge surprise of the women because she didn’t lift the sealing magic. I would think that she will be used to it by now.

_Look at this, these is so much blood. It’s gorgeous._

_Oh. Oh. This is amazing, can I take it home?_

“What did you find?”

_There is this amazing skull with four eye orbits. You need to see it! Can I keep it?_

I covered the microphone and turned to the women “Can he keep one skull? It’s no big deal and will make him really happy” On her silence I snorted and talked to Bill again “Sure you can take it home but put it down for now. You want it whole and you would probably destroy it on your way. You can pick it up when you’re coming back”

_Okay, I think that I found him._

_~Hello there~_

_…_

_Barely. I would never let them talk into my head. This is Pine tree- my-_

_…_

_Don’t interrupt me! I wanted to tell you about him because you did amazing art, but now I don’t think you deserve it!_

_…_

_Shut the fuck up. I’m bored of you now._

_~This is the house_

_Come on in_

_This is the house_

_Built on sin_

_This is the house_

_Nobody lives_

_This is the house_

_You get what you give~_

_~I cut the flesh_

_And make it Bleed_

_Fresh skin_

_Is what I need_

_I let it dry_

_Out in the wood_

_All your crying_

_Did no good, yeah~_

I turned to the women “We can come in”

Without another word she lifted the magic binding and we entered the halls. I followed his magic signature. Soon I found him sitting next to the corpse of huge men that was missing head. His entrails were hanged around the room like a party decoration and Bill was holding something that looked a lot of like his liver. He was throwing it from hand to hand and was grinning rather manically.

When I showed up he gave me one of his charming grins and his eyes shined with unusual intensity “~Hello~” He floated to me, gripped my shirt and pulled me for a long demanding kiss. After I had to pull away, so I can take a few breaths he pushed me against a wall and kissed me again.

“Did you really had to eviscerate him?”

“I felt like it. After all I’m man of simple pleasures and he was pretty strong”

“You’re getting blood all over me”

“Shut up” There was still the intensity in his eyes and I let him to kiss me stupid. When he was finally done he pulled away and chuckled darkly, quite proud expression on his face.

In few seconds he grinned happily “Do you have my bears?! Are they alright?” and with that his childish act was back, leaving me carving more of his intense eyes and touch. Damn Bill, you fucking tease.

I looked at the women “Tell Lemli that we’re changing the deal for once in two months”. I want my demon for as long I want.

***

We sat down in the bar and I looked at Bill who was starring at the photographs on the wall. When the bartender turned to us “Johnnie Walker Black, neat, and for me just water. Thanks”

He was staring. I sighed and pulled the papers from Bill’s pocket to his great displeasure “He’s over twenty-one”

“He looks like a pretty boy that you just picked from his school”

“Jesus. Just give him the drink” While bartender argued with me Bill teleported behind him and poured himself a glass of whiskey. Bartender turned to him and just stared shocked at him but Bill just grinned “What? Do you want one too?”

“You can’t be here!”

“Fuck you. I can be wherever I want” then he went into the fridge and pulled cola for me. In few second he was taking an order from another guy and gave him charming smile with his drink. The guy was staring at him with dreamy smile and I hissed at Bill “No. No. We’re not doing that. Bill! Come back on this side and stop smiling at people”

“But I like it here, there is booze”

“No, just no. And you’re not getting drunk here”

Bill whined “But I want to! Do you know how long it has been?”

“No. You enjoy murder, gore, torture and pain. We can get drunk together back home but definitely NOT with other people” Bill gripped two bottles of Whiskey and was next to me in a blink of an eye.

He clinked the bottles and smiled at me mischievously “Let’s get wasted”

The man from before moved closer to Bill and spoke “Sweetheart if you need help just say so. You should be able to drink anywhere you want. Just say a word”

I break down laughing. And continued laughing as was Bill starring at me. The tears formed and I slipped from my chair on the ground. Bill pouted “Now I’m starting to take offence”

I still laughed “But- But- I’m the abuser in our relationship” And I still continued laughing on the floor. I have to live with nightmares and I’m the abuser.

“You’re an asshole Pine tree”

“Is that compliment?”

Bill grinned adoringly “Yeah”

The man moved behind Bill and wrapped his arm around him “Bill just say a word and I-“

“Get your hands from MY demon or I will break them”

He smiled.

I just sighed and looked at Bill to access his reaction. With unnecessary strength he placed one of the bottles on the bar while he hit the other over the edge and grinned at the sharp edges of the glass. Well fuck. Should I stop him? On the other hand, he touched Bill, something that wasn’t his. Maybe I can Bill let him scare a little bit.

Bill swung the bottle and the man jumped away “Hold on. Hold on. You-“

But Bill just coming closer to him with loony grin and sparkling eyes and the guy desperately moving away looked ready to run if he wasn’t afraid to be stabbed into back with bottle. When he stumbled over the bar stool he ended on his ass and Bill stopped before him with evil grin “There is so much things I want to do to you” he throwed the half bottle from one hand to other and clutched the bar “I don’t think that you’ll enjoy any of it but I can’t wait to hear you scream” the man started crying and maybe I should help him before Bill does something horrible to him. But he touched him, and I couldn’t bring myself to do anything.

Bill leaned closer to him with sweet expression “Do you want to do something fun, sweetheart?”

“No- please-leave me alone- I’m sorry” Bill’s grin faltered and sighed “You’re no fun. No fun at all” and he stand up, ignoring the man as he crawled away from him. For a while Bill was just starring at the now empty place with annoyed face but the he grinned like he just discovered every secret in the universe. His right hand clutched the broken bottle and he run it deep into a forearm of his left hand and then switched hands, running the sharp glass through the skin of his right arm. His shaking hand slipped, and it left ragged wound. Fuck. I jumped towards him while he started laughing like a happy child. His hands were still bleeding, and I started healing immediately.

When there was no sign on his skin I pulled his hair back and looked into his eyes “You ok?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Don’t know. You went from trying to kill somebody to trying to kill yourself”

“Oh. That. It seemed like a good idea”

“I know but it still goes on the list. I can’t believe that, don’t kill yourself, has to be on the don’t-do-list”

“Sorry”

“I’m not mad. Just try talk to me before doing something like that again?”

“This wouldn’t cut it anyway”

“It’s the idea and attempt that counts not if you’re really dead. I know that there are only few things that can actually kill you but just don’t do this”

“I try”

“That’s all I’m asking”

Later in the car he turned to me with one of his rare serious gazes “Do you mind that?”

“What?”

“That I really do enjoy murder, gore, torture and pain, and you can’t do anything about that. I eviscerated guy and really loved it. You can’t get me back to… whoever I was before…”

“Not really. I can keep working on it if you want to but… I still love you”

“Why do you don’t care? How can you be so blind to-“

“I’m not blind. You went through unbelievable trauma and your brain was damaged almost beyond repair. I would be surprised if everything was alright. It kind reminds me… remind me how easily I could have lose you and that you decided to stay with me. I don’t care how insane you are. You are still you and I love _you”_

“You’re as crazy as I’m”

“And that is why _you_ love me”

“No, I love you because you let me give you nightmares just because I _adore_ them now. You let me do whatever fucked-up thing I want because I need to do that now. You’re you. Just…”

“Yeah. I know, I’m not stupid”

“Just so you know, I really do love you, that I think that you would be better off with me dead doesn’t really changes that”

“I know so stop being sappy idiot and put on that grin of yours”

He grinned and showed me his sharp teeth “That I can do”


End file.
